Growing Up Super
by AtLoLevad
Summary: A series of drabbles that show just what it's like to grow up with superhero parents in Avengers Tower. A part of my Liam'verse series.
1. Chapter 1

"Mommy?" Liam shouted from the couch.

Kit turned off the stand mixer in the kitchen and wiped her hands on a kitchen towel.

"Yes, monkey?"

Liam leaned over the edge of the couch, "Why's everyone so 'cited?"

Kit grinned, her eyes crinkling, "Today's a very special day, Liam."

"How come?" he stuck his thumb in his mouth. Kit frowned. The thumb sucking had been on the way out. But ever since they had told him about the incoming babies...

Kit made a mental note to discuss it with Steve.

"Mommyyyyy," Liam whined, "I said, how come it's a 'pecial day?"

Kit laughed, "Sorry, kid. It's special because Aunt Betty and Uncle Bruce are bringing your new cousin home."

"Oh," Liam flopped onto his back, "Am I gonna like him?"

Kit leaned over the back of the couch, "I hope you do. Do you promise to be a nice boy?"

Liam nodded, "Can he play heroes?"

"If you ask him, I'm sure he will," Kit crooked her finger at her son, "How about you come help me bake a cake?"

Liam eyes widened, "Yeah!"

He jumped up and scrambled off the couch, hitting his knee only once on the way into the kitchen.

* * *

Steve waited with Bruce and Betty in the adoption agency.

"Is this...did you feel like you were going to vomit before Liam came?" Bruce asked quietly.

Steve nodded, "For a solid twelve hours. And then he was coming, so I wasn't focused on me anymore."

"So this is normal?" Bruce asked, needing reassurance.

"Perfectly normal," Steve clapped his hand on Bruce's shoulder, "It'll all be fine."

Bruce nodded, "Thank you."

"What's family for?" Steve shrugged, smiling.

* * *

"Are they comin' yet?" Liam banged his heels against the counter, watching his mom frost the cake.

"Soon," Kit waved the spatula in the air, "Daddy texted a little bit ago and they were almost home."

"I wanna meet Nickel!" Liam sighed dramatically.

Kit giggled, and whipped out her phone, opening the camera, "What's your new cousin's name?"

Liam looked disgruntled as he repeated, "Nickel! I wanna meet Nickel!"

"You'll meet him soon," Kit reassured Liam, sending the video to all of the Avengers.

"How soon?" Liam asked.

"Go watch one episode of Sesame Street and then ask me again," Kit flipped on the TV and Liam sat to watch the colorful Muppets.

She had just bought herself an hour. Time to finish that cake.

* * *

Liam fell asleep just twenty minutes into Sesame Street.

Kit covered him with a blanket and kissed his forehead before getting back to frosting the cake.

She was putting the finishing touches on the decorations when she heard Liam start talking.

"Uncle Bucky and Daddy are gonna shoot you right down!"

Kit frowned, her eyebrows scrunching together, "Liam, sweetie?"

He let out a snore that sounded too big for his body.

Sleep-talking.

Kit shook her head, "What are you dreaming about, little man?"

Liam rolled over in his sleep, face mashed up against the back of the couch.

Kit's phone chimed with a message.

-about 15 mins away. All ready? -

-will be as soon as Sleeping Beauty wakes up-

-good luck mommy... see you soon-

Kit smiled and put her phone into her pocket.

"Liam?" She gently tapped her son's arm, shaking his body a little.

Liam grumbled, swatting at Kit's hand, "No, mommy."

"Daddy's almost home," Kit sing-songed, knowing the promise of Steve would get Liam excited.

And true to past precedent, Liam's eyes flew open and he shot up into a sitting position, almost clipping Kit in the chin.

"Daddy?" He questioned, looking around the apartment.

Kit laughed, "In a few minutes. Why don't you help me hang up this sign?"

Liam rolled off of the couch and helped Kit tack up a "Welcome to the Family, Michael!" sign.

Liam's side was hanging much lower than Kit's, but that just added to the appeal.

There was the sound of a key scratching in the lock and both Kit and Liam's heads whipped around.

"Daddy!" Liam shrieked, flinging his body at Steve's knees.

"Hey, partner," Steve grinned, kissing Liam's forehead.

"Where are my people?" Liam asked, looking over Steve's shoulder.

Betty poked her head through the doorway, "Can we come in?"

Kit grinned and waved her hands, "Of course! Come in, come in! We can't wait to meet Michael!"

Betty went back into the hall, and they could hear her whispering in a soothing tone.

Bruce stepped into the apartment next, six-year-old Michael gripping tightly to his pant leg.

Bruce rubbed his back, "This is Steve and Kit. They're kind of like your aunt and uncle. And Liam is close to your age."

Steve gently set Liam on the floor, and the four-year-old peered curiously at this new family member.

Michael and Liam entered a low stakes staring contest, neither one wanting to look away.

"Do you live with Aunt Betty and Uncle Bruce?" Liam asked, shifting from one foot to the other.

Michael looked up at Bruce, hand still gripping fabric tightly. Bruce nodded.

Michael turned back to Liam, "Uh-huh. They brought me from the old place I lived. Now Betty said I can call her "mom" and Bruce said I can call him "dad." I like them."

Liam smiled, "I call my mommy and daddy, "mommy" and "daddy." They're lots of fun. And so are my other grown-ups! 'Specially Uncle Bucky."

Michael looked a little less frightened the more Liam talked. His grip on Bruce's jeans went slack, and he stepped out from behind Bruce's leg.

"Do you like superheroes?" Liam asked, and upon Michael's nod, Liam grabbed his hand and dragged him to the couch.

"I got lotsa heroes 'cause Daddy and my grown-ups are heroes," Liam shoved the Hulk figure into Michael's hand and took the Hawkeye figure for himself.

Michael looked carefully at the green plastic in his hand, and after a moment's hesitation, he started giggling and playing along with the story Liam was coming up with.

Bruce looped an arm over Betty's shoulder.

"I think they're going to get along just fine," Kit said, leaning against Steve's side.

The four adults watched Liam and Michael play with the action figures.

"Let's see how he does when he meets everyone else," Bruce laughed.

Just then, Michael followed Liam up into the couch and jumped, falling over the back.

"I think he'll be okay," Steve muttered as they all rushed forward to make sure he was okay.

Liam tugged on Kit's sleeve, "Mikey got a booboo. Can we get ice cream?"

Michael looked up, eyes bright, "Ice cream?"

Betty laughed, "Ice cream. You'll be fine."

Liam looked at his new partner-in-crime and they both cheered, jumping up and sprinting for the front door.

Both couples shared a look before Kit said what they were all thinking.

"We're in for it."

* * *

**A/N: I'm back with more Avengers goodness. This is the first in a series of drabbles that will all take place within the Liam'verse. This also serves as your introduction to the first of many new Avengers kids. I'm going to strive to keep this in as chronological order as I can. **

**Please feel free to submit prompts of different drabbles that you'd like to see. They can either be sent in a PM here, or in an ask on my Tumblr (thewintersoldierdisaster)**

**There will be much more to come! Hopefully you like these kids as much as I do =)**

**I believe that the next thing I'll be working on, is a Carter/Bucky story. And to find out who Carter is, check out "Uncle Bucky's (reluctant) Babysitting Service" =)**


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm bored," Mikey sighed, dropping his action figures to the couch.

Liam looked over at his partner-in-crime, "Maybe Daddy can bring us to the park?"

"Too hot," Mikey sighed.

And he was right. It was mid-August and it seemed like the world was melting outside.

Natasha and Kit had taken to complaining about the heat at every chance they could get, until, of course, Steve or Clint appeared with a pint of Ben &amp; Jerry's.

(They won't talk about the time Natasha's pint of Chocolate Peppermint Crunch had a bite taken out of it and Clint had a smudge of chocolate on his face. That was a dark day.)

"Maybe Uncle Tony will bring us for ice cream?" Mikey wondered, thinking about the absurdly expensive and delicious sundaes Tony had treated the boys to at Serendipity's.

Kit and Betty had gone apoplectic when they heard Tony had spent two thousand dollars on sundaes the boy's hadn't finished.

(Tony had waved a hand and grinned, "They're only boys once. And besides, what am I gonna spend my money on? Hellicarriers?")

"Mommy'll get mad if we do that again," Liam sighed, they had been really good sundaes, "'Sides, Uncle Tony and Uncle Bruce are 'sperimenting in the lab."

A devilish gleam appeared in Mikey's eyes; the same kind of gleam that often-appeared in Tony or Bruce's eyes when they had an experiment to work on.

Liam crinkled his nose, "What?"

"Daddy always says I can esperiment in the lab!" Mikey grinned, "Let's go!"

Liam scrambled off the couch, following his friend.

"Bye Aunt Pepper!" They chimed running past the red headed woman.

Pepper looked up from the grilled cheese sandwiches she was making, "Hey! Where are you two going?"

"To see Daddy," Mikey supplied.

"And Uncle Tony," Liam added.

Pepper narrowed her eyes, "Okay, but tell one of them to call me when you get there."

The boys nodded and ran out the door, squabbling over who got to hit the button for the elevator.

Pepper laughed, shaking her head, before saying, "JARVIS?"

"Yes, Mrs. Stark?" The AI's accented voice filled the apartment.

"Can you let Tony and Bruce they've got two hurricanes headed their way?"

"Certainly," JARVIS said, and Pepper could've sworn she heard him laugh.

* * *

"Sir, Mrs. Stark would like ..." JARVIS started, but Tony shushed him.

"In a minute JARVIS. Brucey and I are on the verge of genius."

Bruce rolled his eyes, "I don't know if I'd say genius, Tony."

Tony shushed him too, "I am a genius, and so everything I do is genius."

Bruce sighed, "Let's get on with this Tony. I want to see if I can take Mikey swimming or something."

Tony grinned, "Sure, on it Big Guy."

Bruce and Tony worked together silently, mixing and adding chemicals.

"Would you like to do the honors?" Tony held out a vial of purplish liquid to Bruce.

Bruce took it and poured it into the larger mix if chemicals.

"Aha!" Tony shouted, his face falling when nothing happened.

"Something went wrong," Bruce said, sticking his head closer to the mixture.

Tony shoved his head next to Bruce's, "We did EVERYTHING right."

Small orange bubbles began forming on the edge of the mixture.

Tony's eyes narrowed, "Is that?"

Bruce nodded, "GET DOWN!"

Both men hit the floor as the mixture exploded, leaving a thin layer of black powder over everything.

"Cool!"

"Do that again!"

Bruce and Tony sat up, blinking black dust from their eyes.

"Mikey?"

"Liam?"

"I tried to warn you, sir," JARVIS's voice sounded vaguely condescending.

"Thank you, JARVIS," Tony grumbled.

Bruce stood up and brushed as much of the dust from his clothes as possible, "I though you two were hanging out with Aunt Pepper this morning?"

He greeted both boys with hugs and kisses on the head.

Mikey shrugged, "We got bored."

"Yeah," Liam piped up, "We wanted to do 'speriments!"

Tony and Bruce shared a grin.

"Experiments we can do," Tony laughed, "Come on, boys!"

Mikey and Liam roamed the lab for a little bit, touching everything that was guaranteed not to explode.

"Can we make suits?" Mikey asked, gazing at an outdated Iron Man suit with awe.

Tony smiled happily, "Maybe one day, Michelangelo."

Liam hung onto Bruce's hand, "What can we do?"

Bruce thought for a minute, before directing his suggestion to Tony, "Mentos and coke?"

Tony laughed wickedly, "Oh yeah! Mentos and coke!"

The two boys stared back and forth as Bruce and Tony made plans to run out and grab Diet Coke and a dozen rolls of Mentos.

"You have to go out!" Tony said, "I get recognized everywhere."

Bruce shook his head, "That's your fault, Tony!"

"But, if I go out, it'll take three times as long," Tony protested, "You don't get recognized!"

"This isn't fair," Bruce grumbled, but he pulled his wallet out of something sticky and jammed it into his pocket, "Boys, want to come?"

"Yeah!"

"Let's go!"

Bruce took one boy by each hand and led them out of the lab.

"I'll just clean up here," Tony called after them.

"It's not nice to lie, sir," JARVIS said.

Bruce and the boys came back twenty minutes later.

"I have soda!" Mikey shouted as he entered the lab.

"I got the Mentos!" Liam giggled, stepping on the backs of Mikey's sneakers as he walked behind him.

"Nice!" Tony held up his hand, "High five!"

Mikey and Liam took turns slapping Tony's hand before transferring the coke and Mentos to his arms.

"Let's go!" Mikey shouted, climbing up onto a stool near a lab table.

Bruce leaned against the steel table, "Alright guys, first thing. Let's not tell the moms about this."

"How come?" Liam asked, poking at a pile of the black ash.

"Because...we're not supposed to be making a mess," Bruce explained.

"Isn't this your lab?" Mikey asked, "How can Mom be mad if you make a mess here?"

Bruce was silent as Tony cackled, "He has you there!"

Dropping the shopping bags on the table, Tony grinned, "Alright, men, we're undertaking a great experiment today. This could alter all of creation."

"What's creation?" Liam poked Tony's side.

"Uh..." Tony scratched at his goatee; how to explain the concept of creation to a 4-year-old?

He finally settled on "Ask your dad."

Liam shrugged, accepting Tony's response, and turned back to look at the table.

"How do we do this?" Mikey leaned forward and poked at the rolls of Mentos.

Bruce frowned in thought, "Should we just put them straight into the bottle, or should we pour the coke into a bucket?"

Tony looked around the lab, "Each kids gets a bottle and a roll of Mentos. We go from there."

Bruce smiled; this was definitely going to be interesting.

"Okay, unwrap just the ends of the Mentos," Bruce instructed, handing Mikey and Liam a roll of the mint candy.

It was cute to watch the boys carefully peel the wrappers away, tongues poking out in concentration.

"Done!" Mikey held out his unwrapped roll of candy.

"Wait for me!" Liam pouted.

"We're waiting, pal," Tony said.

Liam held to candy up proudly a second later, "Done!"

"Onto the best part," Bruce smiled, twisting the tops off of the bottles of Diet Coke.

"Do we get to drink it?" Liam leaned forward and looked at the dark liquid with wide eyes.

"Yeah…" Mikey breathed, "'Mommy doesn't let me drink coke."

"I know," Bruce ruffled Mikey's hair, "Which is why we're _not_ drinking the coke. You're going to drop the Mentos in it."

Liam lifted his hand to drop the candy into the soda, but Tony caught them before they could hit, "Not yet! Gotta drop them all at once."

"Can we do it now?" Mikey whined.

Bruce and Tony nodded.

Bruce held one bottle of coke, while Tony held the other.

"On your mark, get set, go!" Tony shouted.

The Mentos hit the Diet Coke with an explosion, the likes of which Mikey and Liam had never seen before.

The boys screamed with glee as the sugary drink exploded out of the bottles, covering everything in a two-foot radius.

"AGAIN!" Liam screamed once the soda had fizzled down.

Tony shook his head, spraying drops of coke everywhere, "No way, man. We're covered, and this lab is gonna need a serious cleaning."

Mikey dropped his hands into a puddle of coke, "Can't we do another one? Please?"

He turned to Bruce and widened his eyes and poked out his lower lip in a puppy-dog pout that Natasha had taught both boys.

Bruce shook his head, "Sorry, guys. You heard Uncle Tony. Besides, we have to clean you guys up before the moms come home. They wont be happy about the coke mess."

Liam kicked the table leg, 'What if we show mommy the 'speriment?"

Tony looked slightly scared for a minute. Kit wasn't fond of Liam being around when he and Bruce were tinkering in the lab. The last thing he wanted was her pregnancy hormones to decide he was a bad guy.

He scooped Liam up under the armpits, "Let's bring you to Aunt Pep and she can get a bath started."

Bruce took Mikey by the hand and followed Tony to the elevator.

Tony and Liam were whispering to each other; it sounded like an argument over bath time.

Mikey tugged on Bruce's hand.

"What's up?" the scientist asked, kneeling down next to his son.

Mikey's brown hair was plastered to his forehead with coke, and his green eyes were bright.

"I just wanted to tell you that you're the best daddy. And I wanna do more experiments," Mikey lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Bruce's neck in a hug.

Bruce froze for a minute, shocked by the hug, but then, disregarding the soda that covered both of them, he wrapped his arms around Mikey's back and squeezed.

"You're the best son," he said.

"Uncle Bruce! Mikey! Come on," Liam shouted from the elevator, "We gotta take baths."

* * *

**A/N: The second installment of life in the Avengers Tower is here! **

**I would like to thank Pekenota14 for the prompt - hope you like it ^_^**

**I have a poll up on my page to see what you guys would like Baby Girl Rogers' name to be, so check it out =)**

**And, as always, I'm accepting prompts for this story here and on Tumblr. And I accept general prompts on Tumblr anyways. **


	3. Chapter 3

"He looks pink," Liam said, leaning in Steve's arms to look into the crib.

"He's supposed to be pink," Pepper explained softly, never taking her eyes off of her new son.

"Is he supposed to be all squishy looking?" Mikey asked, standing up on his tiptoes and looking at the new baby.

"He'll grow into that," Tony laughed.

Kit and Natasha were leaning over the other side of the crib, running fingers over the baby's soft little feet.

"I wonder what he'd look like with Tony's beard," Clint whispered, sending Sam into silent hysterics.

"He's so little," Kit sighed, leaning against Steve.

Her husband spoke up next, "Still bigger than Liam when he was born."

Natasha squinted at the baby, getting as close as her 6-months-pregnant belly would allow, "Is it me or does he look like a little redhead?"

Tony nearly knocked her out of the way to get a look.

"What? Red? No!"

In his haste, he missed the smirk Natasha gave the room.

"He has like one hair," Tony finally said, "You can't know if it's red."

Natasha laughed as Pepper scowled at Tony, "What's so bad about red hair? Would it really be awful if he were a redhead?"

Tony attempted to backtrack, "Pep, nothing's wrong with red hair. I love your red hair. Just…he's…. a Stark. We always have dark hair."

Pepper frowned, before a sly smile spread on her face, "Maybe he'll have 12% red hair."

Tony laughed, while everyone else looked around confused.

"What's 12%?" Bucky asked Steve, "Those two always laugh when something hits 12%."

Steve shrugged, "No idea."

"So," Betty interrupted Tony and Pepper's teasing, "You never told us his name."

"Ah, right," Tony grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet, "His name. Want to do the honors, Pep?"

Pepper gently lifted the baby from his crib, cradling him against her shoulder, "I think you can, Tony."

She kissed the baby's cheeks and rubbed a hand up and down his little back.

"Well, Pep thought to name him after my dad," Tony started, "But seriously? Howard? Too 1940s. Old fashioned."

Steve lifted the corner of his mouth in a smile. Tony shot him a look out of the corner of his eye, "No offence, Capsicle."

"None taken," Steve laughed, adjusting his grip on Liam as the boy leaned forward to get a better look at his "cousin."

"Right, anyway, even though I'm on better terms with Old Howard, I wasn't about to name this guy after him," Tony ran a hand gently over the baby's kicking leg.

Pepper jumped in, "And my relationship with my dad wasn't the best when he died, so I wasn't exactly a fan of naming him Richard."

"I'm bored," Liam grumbled to Steve, thinking he was whispering.

Steve shushed him, and put him on the floor, "Why don't you and Mikey head inside and play a game?"

Liam and Mikey ran out of the nursery, screaming and whooping about something.

Kit blushed, embarrassed, "Sorry about that."

Sam laughed, "They're all gonna have to get used to that kind of shit."

"Exactly!" Clint grinned, "Although, I have a one-up on all of you. I can just turn down the old hearing aid when I don't feel like listening."

Natasha smacked his arm, "Do not even think about turning down your hearing aid when the baby is born and you don't want to listen to the crying."

Clint's eyes widened as Natasha's voice grew more quiet and deadly, 'Got it, Nat. I would never do that. I love you."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed the side of her head. She accepted the kiss and leaned into his side.

Tony cleared his throat, "And now that you've made this not about me…"

Pepper rolled her eyes, whispering to the baby, "Daddy is a narcissistic fool."

The others laughed.

"I would resent that, but it's entirely true," Tony grinned, "And unless you've all decided that you don't want to hear my son's amazingly awesome name, let me finish."

Bruce rolled his eyes, and muttered to Betty, "This is why nothing gets done in the lab."

"So, as I was saying, since neither one of us really like our fathers all that much, I looked to the next best thing," Tony grinned, "Which is why, we'd like to introduce you to Edwin Howard Stark."

"Edwin?" Bucky asked, "Whose name is Edwin?"

A new voice joined in, "Why, sir, I'm honored."

"JARVIS?" Kit asked.

Tony and Pepper nodded.

"This JARVIS is, well, he's basically my butler from when I was growing up in AI form," Tony said, "Edwin Jarvis was…uh…he was pretty much the only one looking out for me."

"And now this JARVIS is watching out for you," Steve laughed, "Although you should listen to him better."

"I have been saying that for years, Captain," JARVIS said, prompting laughter.

"Hey, maybe fatherhood will change me," Tony joked.

JARVIS' voice was wry, "Doubtful, sir."

* * *

**A/N: This one's kind of short, but I needed to add in the Stark baby before I could get to my next one-shot since this is September and my oneshot is October. **

**But anyways, ****enjoy! And i hope you like Baby Eddie's name =)**

**Ooh, also, the poll for Baby Rogers is still up on my page, so go and check it out!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Sir, you have several new social media notifications and quite a few text messages," JARVIS' voice was soft, as per Tony's instructions.

"From who?" Tony asked, bouncing a little to keep three-week-old Eddie from waking up in the carrier that was strapped to his chest.

"There are a few messages from Mrs. Stark -"

"Aw, call her Pepper, JARVIS. You know she hates being called Mrs. Stark," Tony laughed, messing around with the piece of metal in front of him.

"Duly noted, sir," JARVIS continued, "The messages from Pepper are inquiring as to young Eddie's well being."

Tony shook his head and directed his answer to his young son, "Your mom has no faith in me. Thinks I'm going to blow something up with you right here. How dumb does she think I am?"

The infant stirred in the Baby Bjorn and Tony laughed, "Don't answer that."

"What shall I respond, sir?" JARVIS asked.

Tony thought for a minute and then grinned, "Send her a picture of this!"

He wiped his hands on a spare tag and gently lifted Eddie from the fabric sling.

The baby yawned in his sleep and waved his fists in the air as Tony rested him against the piece of the Iron Man suit he had been working on.

"Photograph has been taken, sir," JARVIS responded, and if Tony had really been listening he would have heard the familiar note in the AI's tone that implied that JARVIS through Tony's idea was terrible.

But Tony plowed ahead, as he usually did.

"Write 'Baby's first super suit,'" Tony grinned, holding Eddie against his shoulder and rubbing his back.

"Certainly, sir," JARVIS sighed, sending the picture to Pepper.

"You said something about social media notifications?" Tony remembered a few minutes later, in the middle of giving Eddie a bottle.

The infant reached towards Tony with his little hands, and Tony was so involved in watching his son that he almost missed JARVIS' response.

"Yes, sir. There are quite a few Twitter mentions and several mentions on Instagram as well as Facebook."

"Huh," Tony blew air between his lips, "Well, what's it about?"

"I believe your friend Harley has nominated you for the Ice Bucket Challenge," JARVIS replied.

"Harley?" Tony furrowed his brow, "What the hell's an 'Ice Bucket Challenge'? Get the kid on the phone, would ya?"

"Certainly," JARVIS' voice was replaced with a phone ringing.

Tony burped Eddie and nestled him back in the Baby Bjorn while he waited for Harley to pick up.

"Hello?" The boy -man, Tony had to remind himself- answered.

"Keener! My man, how's MIT treatin' ya?" Tony grinned, even though Harley couldn't see him.

"Mechanic!" Harley's voice immediately perked up, "I've only been here three weeks."

"So?" Tony laughed, "I've made impressions on places in less."

"Yeah, I know," Harley laughed, "But it's cool. I'm having a good time."

"I'm glad," Tony said, "Onto the point of my phone call -"

"What?" Harley interrupted, "You didn't just want to say hi to your favorite person in the world?"

"Yeah, let Pepper hear you say that and you won't be in the world anymore," Tony teased.

"Hey, Aunt Pepper loves me," Harley said, "She even sent me a care package that was waiting for me when I got here."

Tony shrugged, "That sounds like Pep."

Harley yawned on the other end.

"Am I boring you?" Tony deadpanned.

"Nah, no more than usual. I was out late last night," Harley explained.

"Ooh, girls? Booze?" Tony said, before a small noise from JARVIS reminded him that Harley was just 18, "Uh, not that you should be drinking or you know."

Harley burst out laughing, "I was at a robotics club meeting."

Tony felt mildly stupid, "Oh. Kid, I mean this is the nicest way possible, but you're a nerd."

"Says the guy who builds robot suits in his basement," Harley said wryly.

"Hey! Respect the suit!" Tony protested so vehemently Eddie woke up in the sling and let out an ear-splitting screech.

"Is that Eddie?" Harley asked, excited.

"Yeah," Tony said, beginning to pace around the lab, "Say hi to Harley, Ed."

The baby cooed and blew a spit bubble.

Tony relayed this to Harley, much to the teenager's delight.

"Man! I can't wait to meet the kid. Can I come out for Thanksgiving?" Harley asked.

"You're always welcome here," Tony said warmly, "Now, what the hell's an Ice Bucket Challenge?"

Harley cracked up on the other end of the line, "I was wondering when you'd see that."

"JARVIS just brought it to my attention. Now tell me what it is," Tony demanded.

"Basically, you dump a bucket of ice water over your head to raise awareness for ALS, and then you donate money and challenge other people," Harley gave Tony a bare-bones rundown.

"Ice water?" Tony winced, but then brightened, "I can work with that. How much time do I have?"

"24 hours," Harley said, "But I nominated you three days ago, so just do it whenever, I guess."

"Harley, Eddie, I'm developing a very good plan," Tony said, winking down at his son.

"Should I be afraid?" Harley laughed.

"Nah, you're too far away. But certain other people around here should be," Tony grinned wickedly.

"Geez. You're insane. I gotta go. I have class in ten," Harley said.

"Study hard, and don't do anything that I wouldn't do," Tony grinned.

"Short list then," Harley laughed and hung up.

"JARVIS!" Tony shouted, completely unnecessarily.

"Yes, sir?"

"Hold all of my calls, Eddie and I have a plan to work on."

Pulling a tablet out from under a dozen pieces of paper, Tony began scribbling away.

* * *

The next morning, Tony shuffled Pepper up to the landing pad of the Tower.

"It's early," she complained.

"I need your help, Pep! I was challenged," Tony cried, already in the process of yanking his shirt over his head.

"You're challenged alright," the redhead muttered, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

Tony sat cross-legged in the middle of the landing pad, "Okay! Let's get this show on the road."

He leaned over and pressed a button, bringing two of his suits flying over.

Pepper watched as one suit deposited a large bucket of water, ice floating on the top, in front of her.

The other suit positioned itself right in front of Tony and just stopped.

"What's that one doing?" She asked.

"He's filming," Tony pointed at the bucket, "Now get ready. After I nominate my picks, you have to dump that on my head."

Pepper looked at the bucket skeptically, but lifted it up and waited.

Tony grinned and faced that camera, "Hello everyone! I, the infamous Tony Stark, have accepted Harley Keener's ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. I have also donated."

Pepper raised her eyebrows; good for Tony.

Her husband pointed at the camera, "I challenge the superhero moochers that are living in my Tower to donate and take the challenge."

He was apparently finished speaking, since he crooked a finger at Pepper.

She stepped forward and dumped the water over Tony's head, giggling a little at the shriek that he let out.

Tony shook his head like a dog and spit water from his mouth.

He looked up at Pepper, a smirk on his face, "How was that, Pep?"

She grinned into the camera, "It was a pleasure."

* * *

"4 million hits in less than a day!" Tony crowed, strutting into Bruce and Betty's living room.

Bruce looked up from the vegetables he was slicing, "On what?"

Natasha rolled her eyes from the floor where she was hanging out with her nephews, "His stupid ice bucket challenge. He's been giving us updates on his hits all day."

"Personally, I think it could've used some more flair," Clint supplied from the couch.

The group groaned. Tony was going to go on about it forever.

"Flair? More flair? Where's your video, Barton?" Tony grumbled, snatching a piece of bell pepper from the cutting board.

Clint grinned slyly, "It's in progress."

"Good. It's been almost 24 hours. You people better get moving on videos," Tony said.

Bucky and Steve shared a look.

"We don't do ice," Steve said.

"Yeah, you'll forgive us if we choose not to relive very traumatizing moments in our long lives, right?" Bucky added.

"You can't keep playing that card!" Tony exclaimed, "It's just not fair!"

"Yeah," Sam agreed jokingly, "It's not an excuse to hog all the hot water too!"

Changing the subject, Kit said, "What about Thor? Does he have to do the challenge?"

"He doesn't technically live in the Tower," Betty pointed out, bouncing Eddie around and making faces at him.

"He's still a superhero," Tony said.

"He's also the King of Asgard. Are you really going to make him dump ice water on his head?" Natasha laughed.

"Yes!" Tony pointed at her, "All of you have to do it!"

"Hey! I'm not super!" Kit protested.

Betty agreed, "I'm not either."

"I'm six months pregnant," Natasha said.

Tony narrowed his eyes at her, "Oh, so now you use the baby Hawk as an excuse to get out of things."

Liam jumped to his aunt's defense, "Aunt Nat can't go in cold water! What if my new cousin freezes up like daddy did?"

"Fine! Spider Lady is out. But the rest of you have to do it."

Clint leaned over to Sam, "Who's gonna call Thor and tell him?"

Sam shook his head, "Not gonna be me. I use metal wings to fly."

* * *

Somehow, someway, Tony got Jane and Thor down from Asgard.

"How'd you do it, Stark?" Steve asked as the group watched the Bifrost form.

Tony shrugged, "Told Thor I had a challenge for him. He agreed right away."

"Of course," Steve muttered good naturedly, yanking Liam back by the collar of his shirt before he could touch the shimmering pathway between worlds.

"Fellow Avengers of Earth," Thor boomed, stepping out of the Bifrost and giving the nearest Avenger (Clint) a huge hug.

Jane rested a hand on Thor's shoulder when she saw the bluish tinge to Clint's face, "Too tight, Thor."

Thor dropped Clint to his feet and clapped the archer's shoulder, "My sincere apologies. I forget how weak Midgardians are."

A muscle in Clint's jaw twitched at the unintentional insult, but he shook Thor's hand and said, "Good to see you, man."

Liam and Mikey broke free from their respective fathers' grips and bolted for Thor.

"Uncle Thor!" Liam shouted, "Throw me in the air!"

Thor laughed heartily and lifted Liam under his armpits and tossed him gently into the air. Upon catching the boy, he said, "Young Liam, you have grown a thousand leagues since we last met."

Liam giggled, "I only sawed you when Eddie was borned."

"Yes, but you have grown since," Thor laughed, setting Liam on his feet and lifting Mikey into the air, "Young Michael! Your good father tells me that you are a most intelligent boy."

Mikey grinned at the compliment, "I'm not as smart as Dad or Uncle Tony or any of the rest of you."

Thor's face went stern, "You mustn't say that. You are just as intelligent as you need to be right now! And your Aunt Jane is very pleased with your skills."

Mikey looked over Thor's shoulder at Jane. The scientist nodded, "I definitely am! A third grade reading level? You're going to replace Darcy as my assistant any day now."

Mikey blushed, "I like Darcy."

Betty and Bruce shared a look; girls already?

Once Thor and Jane had greeted everyone, and commented on Eddie's growth and Natasha and Kit's as well, Thor asked about the challenge Tony had.

Later on they all would realize what that gleam in Tony's eyes meant. They would have seen what happened next coming.

But just then, they weren't focused on the big picture.

Tony smiled at them all, "JARVIS? Now."

"Now?" Kit murmured to Steve, who shrugged.

Natasha caught on before the rest of them, shrieking, "STARK! I'LL KILL YOU!" just as gallons of ice water fell onto the group.

Cold, wet, and sputtering, twelve sets of eyes found Tony Stark laughing like a mad man.

"Nominate people!" He shouted.

Natasha lunged at him; Clint's arm around her expanding waist the only thing standing between Tony and certain death.

Liam and Mikey stood, teeth chattering, for a minute, and then exploded in shouts.

"Again!"

"We want more water!"

Pepper, Betty, Kit, and Jane just stared at each other, cold and shocked.

"I do not understand," Thor boomed, shaking water from his hair, "What has just happened?"

"The Ice Bucket Challenge," Steve said, pushing his hair away from his forehead.

"Is this the challenge the man of iron spoke of?" Thor asked, slicking his hair back.

"You bet your shiny hammer it is," Tony grinned, "Think of all the hits this video is going to get."

Bucky grunted, "Think of all the hits you're going to get."

Sam laughed, "Hey, the metal arm of yours isn't gonna short-circuit on us, is it?"

Bucky grinned, "Nah, waterproofed."

Tony clapped his hands, "Again, you all have to pick someone to nominate."

"Can I nominate you again?" Natasha said, her hair hanging in damp strands around her face and her eyes narrowed in a death glare.

"If you must," Tony said, "I wish you'd be a little more creative though."

"I'm soaking wet and cold," Natasha grumbled, "I don't have time for creative. I'm nominating you, Stark."

She tossed her wet hair over her shoulder and stalked back into the Tower.

Clint grinned, "I'll nominate Bobbi, but right now I gotta calm her down."

He ran after his wife, shouting her name and fiddling with his ear.

"Oh, I hope the water didn't hit his hearing aid," Betty said.

Bruce shook his head, "He should be fine. They're too far in his ear to really be damaged."

Tony turned to his wife, "Pep?"

She sighed, "I guess I'll nominate Happy. Can I go dry off now?"

With Tony's blessing she headed back inside.

"I'm not nominating anyone," Bruce said, "I can't perpetuate this."

"Spoilsport," Tony pouted, smiling only when Betty agreed to nominate Fitz and Simmons.

Liam and Mikey whispered to each other, before shouting simultaneously, "We wanna 'minate Carter!"

Bucky grinned at that. And threw in his nomination for Coulson.

Steve nominated Maria Hill and Kit chose her friend, Chris, from high school.

Jane chose Darcy ("Although, she's probably already done this. I swear, that girl spends so much time on social media. Maybe I should nominate Erik? No, he'll never do this. All right, Darcy. I choose Darcy.")

"That one agent we met a while back, what was her name? May?" Sam asked.

"Melinda May," Steve supplied.

"Yeah, I liked her. I'll nominate her," Sam said.

And soon Thor was the last one standing.

"Who's it gonna be, Your Highness?" Tony smirked.

"I think I shall nominate Sif and the Warriors Three. This seems to be a challenge they would enjoy," Thor nodded, solidifying his decision.

"Is this finally over?" Jane asked, leaning into Thor's side when a gust of wind blew.

Tony nodded, "I will personally inform all of your nominations. I think I'm going to start a YouTube channel to put all of these videos up."

He rubbed his hands together and bolted for his lab.

"What was the purpose of this challenge?" Thor asked a minute later, "Was Stark trying to test our resilience to cold temperatures? Because I could have informed him that Asgardians posses a higher tolerance for extreme temperatures."

Jane patted her husband's arm, "We'll explain it over dinner."

"Ah! Might we get your delightful Midgardian coffee as well?"

"Coffee..." Kit sighed.

"Can we get Happy Meals?" Liam and Mikey asked, holding their arms out to Thor for him to carry them.

He obliged and asked, "You need meals to make you happy? I must introduce you to my friend, Volstagg. He would enjoy that mightily."

Kit linked arms with Steve and Bucky, giggling.

They both looked down at her.

Steve asked, "What are you laughing about?"

"Just...this," she said, "I have kids with Captain America. My son is hanging out with Thor. I just had ice water dumped on me by Iron Man. Life is funny."

* * *

**A/N: I had such a blast writing this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

**Lots of different call backs to other Marvel characters in this one. Lots of fun Avenger family moments. **

**I'm not overly thrilled with the ending, but I really couldn't think of any other way to finish it. So please, drop me some feedback and let me know what you think =)**

**I'm going to be working on the last chapter to "The Start of an Age" next. I start school on Tuesday, so I'm no guaranteeing a chapter before then, since I'm moving ****back home on Sunday. But I'll try my hardest. **

**As always, my inboxes are always open to prompts and discussion. **

**Happy Labor Day Weekend everyone! Be safe and have fun! (I know I'm going to ;D )**


	5. Chapter 5

"What exactly is the risk of Bifrost travel on infants?" Kit wondered out loud, folding some onsies.

Steve looked up from the SHIELD file he had been engrossed in, "I don't think there is a risk. We've all used it multiple times at this point."

Kit sat cross-legged on the bed, "Yeah, but we're adults. Not to mention the fact that two of us have super serum in them and a third has the Hulk. The babies are...well they're babies,"

Steve frowned, in thought, "We took Liam and Mikey that one time. They seem fine."

"Seem is the operative word," Kit exclaimed, "What if there's some weird effect on Sarah?"

Steve pushed the files to the side and leaned forward to kiss his wife.

"It'll be fine. Tony and Bruce have been studying the Bifrost. If Stark isn't worried about Eddie, then you shouldn't worry about Sar."

Kit frowned, her forehead still resting against Steve's, "Tony doesn't worry about anything."

Steve laughed, "Oh, he definitely does. He just doesn't let people see."

"I just want to make sure it's safe," Kit said, planting her hands on her hips.

Steve stood up from the bed and crossed over to Kit in two strides.

"Darling," he cupped her cheeks and bent his head closer, "Everything will be fine. Stark and Bruce are in their lab if you want to inundate them with questions."

Kit smiled softly at her husband. She rested her hands on his hips.

"I don't know," she murmured, "I can think of a better use of my time."

Her hands slid lower and Steve grinned.

"I like the way you think," he laughed and grabbed Kit by her waist, lifting her up so her legs could lock around his hips.

Kit laughed into his neck, "I like the way you look."

"That's the best you can come up with?" Steve grinned, kissing the side of Kit's neck.

"Hey, we're married buddy, I don't have to be cute and flirty anymore," Kit threaded her fingers through his hair, "I already have you."

Steve laughed into Kit's neck, "Yeah, you definitely have me."

He dropped Kit onto their bed, and climbed up on top of her, the suddenness of his weight shifting the soft suitcase onto the floor.

Steve pressed his weight down on Kit, being careful not to hurt her.

"I'm not going to break," Kit breathed, pulling Steve's face close to hers and kissing him deeply.

"I know," Steve's voice was low, and his hands were gentle as he pulled Kit's shirt over her head.

"Steve," Kit commended, "Liam will be back with Clint in less than half an hour and Sarah's going to need either feeding or changing, so hurry up."

She tugged at his shoulders, trying to convey a sense of urgency.

Steve winked at her, "Speed it up? You got it, Mrs. Rogers."

And before Kit could say anything else, Steve's clothes were quickly being dropped to the floor and his hands were working at the button of her jeans.

* * *

"Oh, and there's Sarah," Kit sighed, burrowing her nose into Steve's chest, "I'd better grab her."

She pushed away from her husband and rolled off the bed, landing on slightly unstable feet.

"I'll grab her," Steve said, already pulling his shirt on, "You'd better finish packing."

Kit agreed, jumping and shimmying into her jeans, "Bring her back here if she needs to be fed, okay?"

Steve let his hand brush against Kit's behind as he walked out the door, "Okay."

Kit smiled to herself and pulled her hair up into a ponytail before getting back to packing.

"Hey Mommy, look who it is," Steve's voice came from the doorway a few minutes later. Kit turned around, a big smile on her face.

Steve had their three-month-old daughter cradled in his muscled arms.

"My girl!" Kit exclaimed, rushing forward and tickling Sarah's sides.

The infant squealed, her little hands waving in the air.

"She's hungry," Steve explained unnecessarily, passing the baby to his wife's arms.

Kit cooed at her daughter, pulling down the neck of her oversized T-shirt and helping Sarah latch onto her breast.

"Help me sit down?" Kit asked, looking up at Steve.

He nodded, grabbing hold of her arm and gently steering her back to the bed.

Kit sunk to the mattress, Sarah still sucking away happily.

"Thank you," Kit blew Steve a kiss.

"My pleasure, ma'am," Steve winked, knowing it drove Kit crazy to be called 'ma'am.'

Sure enough she narrowed her eyes at him, and said, "If I wasn't holding a baby right now, I'd smack you."

"I know you love me," Steve teased, "I'm heading out to check in with Coulson and make sure everything is ready for tonight."

Kit nodded, "Check in with Nat to see if she needs help too. Oh, and Pepper! And make sure Carter isn't too freaked out by this whole this. Also, if Clint comes back and you see him, take Liam and Mikey off his hands."

Steve laughed, "Okay, check in with the rest of the family. Got it. I'll be back soon..." he paused, considering all of the people he had to check in on, "Ish."

Kit smiled, "Thank you, wonderful husband."

She waved Sarah's tiny fist at Steve, "Say bye-bye to Daddy."

Steve darted forward and kissed Sarah's downy blonde hair.

"I'll be back before dinner."

* * *

"Hey," Steve stuck his head into the gym, "Bucky!"

Bucky heard his name and stopped punching the bag hanging from the ceiling, "Yeah?"

"Can you or Carter watch the boys?" Steve asked, dragging Liam and Mikey into the gym, "I have more errands to run before we leave."

Bucky nodded, "Yeah, sure. I was just finishing up actually," he unwrapped the tape from his hands, "Carter and I have to finish packing."

"Uncle Bucky!" Liam lunged at the sweaty soldier, "Can me and Mikey box with you?"

"Yeah!" Mikey piped up, "We wanna be as good as Aunt Nat!"

"Hey, why wouldn't you want to be as good as me?" Bucky mock-frowned, reaching out to ruffle the boys' hair.

Liam and Mikey shared a look.

"Cause Aunt Nat is scarier," Mikey grinned.

Steve and Bucky were both glad to see that Mikey had come out of his shell more. Bruce and Betty weren't so thrilled that it meant he was getting a little bit of an attitude, but they were working on it.

Bucky gave the boys an evil little grin, "I'll show you scary!"

He growled and chased them out to the elevator.

Steve laughed as he listened to Liam and Mikey laugh and scream for Bucky to stop.

They were definitely in good hands.

He pushed his hand through his hair, deciding to check in on Pepper before he headed out to see Coulson.

Bucky was holding Liam and Mikey under each arm while they waited for the elevator.

The boys shouted out when the saw him.

"Daddy!"

"Uncle Steve!"

"Uncle Bucky got us!"

"Save us!"

Steve laughed, "Sorry, boys. You're on your own. I have to check with Uncle Phil to make sure everything is safe for our trip to see Uncle Thor."

That started the boys on a new chant.

"Uncle Thor! Uncle Thor!" The chanted, kicking their legs and waving their hands.

Bucky winced as a knee caught him in the kidney, "Thanks, punk."

"Welcome, jerk," Steve grinned as they stepped into the elevator, "How's Carter handling the prospect of Bifrost travel?"

Bucky laughed, his eyes twinkling, "She's freaking out, but pretending she's cool with it."

"Why's Carter freaking out?" Mikey asked from underneath Bucky's arm.

"Yeah," Liam piped up, "The Frost is cool!"

Steve laughed, "Yeah, it is. But Carter has never used it before. So we have to be nice to her."

He squatted down so he was eye-level with his son, "No making fun of Carter, okay?"

Liam nodded, "I won't make fun of Carter."

Steve kissed Liam's forehead, "Good boy."

The elevator stopped on Bucky's floor, and he stepped out, the boys still under his arms, "We'll see you later. Let's go help Carter pack, boys."

Steve threw his hand up in a wave, "Have fun, boys."

"We will, Dad!" Liam called back.

"Yeah, Uncle Steve, I'm an expert packer," Mikey grinned.

* * *

"What am I supposed to pack? What is Asgard like? Oh my god, I'm going to a mystical Viking land," Carter slumped onto the bed and dropped her head to her hands.

Bucky dropped the pair of jeans he was holding to the floor and sat next to his girlfriend, "It's going to be fine, I promise. Asgard is a pretty cool place actually. And you don't have to pack that much, Thor's gonna end up giving you these really comfortable robe type things."

Carter lifted her head, "Robe type things?"

"Yeah," Bucky nodded, "They're comfortable. It's like the dress code up there. So just pack a couple pairs of jeans and some tops. You'll only be wearing your normal clothes when we're alone in the room."

"Oh," Carter breathed, "So I don't need to pack that much?"

"Nah," Bucky shook his head, "We're only there for a week anyway. You feeling better?"

Carter nodded, "Actually, yes. Where are the boys?"

"In the living room," Bucky jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "So much for those two being expert packing helpers."

Carter laughed, "I wouldn't want them to see me freak out anyway."

Bucky leaned over to kiss her gently, "I can't wait to see you freak out over the Bifrost."

"Mean," Carter swatted his chest.

Bucky grabbed her wrists in his hand, "You know you'd feel the same way if the roles were reversed."

"I wouldn't verbalize it," Carter pouted, "Now be nice and answer my questions. I have a lot of them."

Bucky mock-groaned and flopped back against the pillows, "Okay, shoot."

Carter crawled up and sat on Bucky's stomach, "Is the Bifrost going to hurt? Am I going to vomit? Do I have to call Odin, like Your Majesty or something? Do I have to bow to him? What about Thor? Do I bow to _him_? Is Jane Queen now? Do I curtsey? What do they eat up there? Am I going to get like some weird Viking goulash or something?"

Bucky laughed, causing Carter to vibrate a little, "Uh to answer your questions in order: no, it doesn't hurt. You won't vomit if you don't eat for the two hours before we leave. Odin's title is The All Father, I believe, but we haven't met him ever, so don't worry about that. You don't have to bow to Thor, but you do have to worry about him crushing your ribs with his hugs, and you don't have to curtsey to Jane. I think she's queen, but she also doesn't use the title. The food was good the last time I went, meat and vegetables, no goulash in sight. Also, don't call them Vikings. They don't like it."

Bucky clamped his hands on Carter's waist, "Did I get all of your questions? Are you good now?"

"Better, I guess," Carter sighed, "I don't like the unknown."

"It's not the unknown," Bucky laughed, 'It's Thor and Jane. Plus Sif and the Warriors Three, but they're all pretty cool."

Carter's eyes widened, "Oh god. Is it possible for me to just sit this trip out?"

Bucky tickled Carter's sides, "Come on, darling. It's not that bad. I'll be by your side the whole time. Plus, Thor mentioned he had some interesting news, don't you want to know what it is?"

Carter dropped her head to rest against Bucky's chest, "No. This whole thing is freaking me out."

"You'll be fine," Bucky said, "I promise."

"Carter!" Liam shouted from the living room, "Can we take Bart for a walk?"

Carter sighed and rolled off of Bucky, "Sure, sweetie! Just let me put shoes on and I'll come with you."

To Bucky, she said, "Can you finish packing my stuff? Since you're the Asgardian expert in this relationship."

Bucky propped himself up on his elbow, "Yeah, I can handle that. Have a good walk."

"You know it," Carter grinned, grabbing her sneakers and padding into the living room.

Bucky watched her leave; this was definitely going to be an interesting trip to space.

* * *

**A/N: I am sooooo sorry for the ridiculous wait on an update. Life seems to have been conspiring against me these past few weeks. I'm going to try and be better about updating in a timely manner (but honestly, the semester is getting busier, so I really can't promise much)**

**Anyway. This is part one of what's going to be a two part trip to Asgard. I was going to try and post the trip to visit Thor and Jane as one long chapter, but I felt so bad about making you guys wait that I decided to split it up. I felt like this was a good place to end it too. **

**Um, feel free to drop me more prompts for this story. I will get to them eventually. I love this universe and I do have a ton of story ideas mostly for oneshots, so it'll probably be a while before I have another multi-chap for this) But everything that I write that isn't it's own long story will be published here. I like using "Growing Up Super" as a kind of anthology of their lives, and I hope you all like it too!**

**So please, drop me a review and have a wonderful day! =)**


	6. Chapter 6

Carter bent over and gripped her knees with her hands, sucking in deep breaths.

She could hear Clint laughing behind her, "How ya doing down there, Davis?"

Carter grunted an unintelligible curse and flipped Clint off. She was trying very hard to keep her food down.

Clint grinned, "That's not ladylike."

He gestured to the baby carrier strapped to his chest, "What kind of example are you setting for Ava?"

Carter sighed, "You suck."

Bucky stepped off the Bifrost and immediately hurried to Carter's side. He pressed his metal hand to the back of his girlfriend's neck, the coolness helping to soothe her.

"Lay off, Barton," Bucky said to his teammate, "I'm sure you weren't an expert on your first trip."

Clint opened his mouth to protest, but Natasha cut in, "He vomited all over Thor."

"Nat!" Clint exclaimed, Carter's weak giggles backing his words.

"Are you okay?" Natasha asked Carter, passing the brunette a ginger flavored cough drop, "This'll help your stomach."

Carter took the candy gratefully, "Thanks, Natasha. I'm feeling a little better now."

Bruce, Betty and Mikey were the next ones to step off the Bifrost.

"Daaaaad," Mikey whined, "Let go of my hand."

"No way, kiddo," Bruce said good naturedly, "Mom and I don't really want to lose you in outer space."

Mikey looked to Betty imploringly, "Moooom."

Betty grinned, "Sorry, Mikey. I'm in total agreement with Dad. I don't know what'll happen if we let go of you on the Bifrost. You're stuck with us, hon."

Mikey grumbled, but let Bruce keep a hold on his hand.

"Let's go again!" Liam's excited little voice broke through the background noise.

Steve laughed, "We'll go on the way home, buddy."

Steve stepped off the Bifrost, Liam's arms locked around his neck and his knobby knees pressed into Steve's sides.

Kit stepped off next, Sarah tucked close to her chest in a baby Bjorn, her little thumb clamped in between her rosy lips.

"Is everyone okay?" she asked, her tone slightly worried as she checked on Sarah.

"We're all good," Tony confirmed as he stepped off the Bifrost and moved away from it.

"How would you even know?" Natasha grinned, "You just got here."

"He's got a sixth sense," Pepper teased, "It's called 'I have to be the Center of attention so I answer any and all questions, even if they're not directed at me'."

Tony mock pouted and took Eddie from Pepper's arms, "I won't have you corrupting my son with mischaracterizations of me."

"You are a corrupting force all on your own, Man of Iron," Thor's booming voice joined the fray.

"Uncle Thor!" Mikey and Liam screeched excitedly, wiggling away from their respective fathers to run to the god.

Thor caught the boys in his arms and lifted them into the air, "It is good to see you, my boys."

The adults watched as Liam and Mikey chattered animatedly, telling Thor all about the latest developments in their lives.

"I wonder where Jane is," Carter whispered to Bucky.

"And what this big surprise is," Kit whispered, joining her faux-brother-in-law and his girlfriend in conversation.

As if reading their minds (and maybe Heimdal could, none of them were really sure of the scope of Asgardian powers), Thor looked at his friends and grinned, "I am sure you are all wondering where my Lady Jane is."

"As a matter of fact," Steve laughed, "We were."

Thor lit up, "We will go back to the palace and Jane and I shall explain everything."

He turned, still carrying Mikey and Liam, and said, "Follow me."

Carter nudged Bucky, "We're walking? No carriage, or anything?"

Bucky laughed, "It's not that far. Plus, I don't think Thor really buys too much into the royalty thing. Jane kind of grounds him."

"Funny since we're in FREAKING SPACE!" Carter whisper shouted.

Bucky grinned and tucked his hand into the back pocket of Carter's jeans, "I'm going to enjoy seeing your reactions to everything."

* * *

The group had just entered the front hall to Thor's palace when there was a sudden whirlwind of noise and movement.

"Ahhhh! Babies!" The blur shrieked, skidding to a stop in front of Clint and baby Ava.

Now that she had stopped bouncing, Darcy was easily recognizable.

"Oh give her to me!" she exclaimed, practically knocking Clint over in her excitement to hold the two month old.

She immediately began cooing over the tiny redhead.

"Nice to see you too, Darcy," Natasha drawled, a small smile on her face as she watched her daughter stretch her hands towards Darcy's glasses.

Darcy looked up and grinned, "Until the rest of you are as cute as the children you produce, this is the kind of greeting you will get."

She shifted Ava in her arms and grinned at Kit, "Can I hold that gorgeous little angel too?"

Darcy broke out her best puppy dog eyes and Kit laughed.

"We can set up a schedule for you to shower all of the kids in love," Kit smiled, "It looks like you've got your hands full there."

Darcy winced as Ava tugged a long lock of brown hair.

"Fine by me as long as I get cuddles with all of these fantastic little people," Darcy said, making faces at Ava as they walked.

Tony fell into step next to her, Eddie's cheek resting against his shoulder, "Okay. Give me the scoop. What's MC Hammer and Foster's big surprise?"

Darcy grinned wickedly, "Oh I am so not telling you, Stark."

"Evil," Tony said, narrowing his eyes.

Darcy made Ava's little fist wave at Tony, "Oh, I know."

* * *

Thor led his Midgardian family into the throne room, laughing as Liam and Mikey tried to imitate his booming voice.

"This is new," Pepper commented, looking around at the set up of the throne room.

The thrones had been pushed back against the fall wall. There were fires burning bright in large pits dotted around the room. But the biggest change was the fact that there was a set up that looked sort of like a living room in the middle of the floor, extra large L-shaped couch and all.

"What is this?" Tony asked, "Pottery Barn for Asgard?"

Kit nudged Tony in the side with her elbow, "Don't be rude."

Betty leaned over, and whispered, "It is an odd choice for an throne room in a mystical land."

"Don't worry," Jane's brunette head popped up over the edge of the couch, "It's only temporary. We thought it might be a nice setting for us all to have dinner and catch up."

Liam and Mikey wiggled their way out of Thor's grip and bolted for the couches. They threw their bodies over the side and hugged Jane.

"It does look very comfy," Kit said, smothering a tiny yawn. She and Steve had been up late with baby Sarah, and unfortunately there was no super soldier serum coursing through her veins.

"It is," Clint grinned from his place on the couch, sprawled out with his feet on Natasha's lap.

"Everyone, please have a seat," Thor boomed, "My Jane and I have a surprise for our Midgardian family."

He and Jane excused themselves and left through a side door.

The group settled into the (very comfortable, very squishy) couch, happily tucked together, to wait for Thor and Jane to come back.

Carter leaned over to whisper, "Does Thor often have surprises?"

Bucky shook his head, "Not that I can think of. There was the time he found the world's largest Pop-Tart."

"Pop-Tart?" Carter raised her eyebrows.

"I'll explain later," Bucky grinned, kissing her cheek.

"Hey, guys," Bruce called to his son and nephew," Come back here."

The two boys looked up from the Asgardian armor they were inspecting across the room, eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Aw, Dad! We were just looking," Mikey whined, trudging back to the couch with Liam in tow.

"Yeah!" Liam piped up, wiggling his little body in between Pepper and Tony to make faces at Eddie, "We were just lookin'."

Before anyone could say anything further, the doors opened again. Thor led the tiny parade, a young boy following behind him, and Jane behind the boy, a bundle cradled in her arms.

"Family," Thor started, "This is our son, Axl, and our daughter, Freya."

The Avengers stared mildly dumbfounded for a moment before erupting into cheers and congratulations.

Jane accepted the hugs offered up by the women, and Thor was beaming as the men clapped him on the back and shook his hand.

For their part, Mikey and Liam approached Axl carefully. The unknown boy was standing next to the couch by Darcy, the only one other than his new parents that he actually knew.

"Uncle Thor is your dad?" Liam asked shyly, shuffling his feet.

Axl looked at Darcy. She grinned and nodded, "Go ahead, little monster. These guys are basically your family."

Axl inhaled a breath through his nose, and nodded, "The All-Father and Lady Jane brought me into their home."

Mikey looked at Darcy, "What's that mean?"

Darcy laughed, "It means that Thor and Jane adopted Axl, like your mom and dad adopted you."

Recognition dawned on Mikey's face, "Ohhh! That makes sense! How come you don't call them mom and dad?"

Axl shrugged.

Darcy laughed again, "Why don't you three kiddos come with me and we can explore a little, get to know each other."

Liam nodded, "I wanna 'splore! Can we see a Snap like Uncle Thor talks about?"

"A Snap?" Darcy's forehead creased in confusion.

Mikey said, "He means a Bigg—uh, biggnlesnap?"

"Bingelsnipe," Axl offered up the correct word.

"Oh," Darcy said, "Yeah, I don't think we'll find one of those, but I do know where they keep the chocolate."

Darcy led the excited boys out of the room and off on an adventure.

* * *

"So," Steve said as he was passed baby Freya to hold, "Why don't you two get us up to speed on this?"

Jane watched carefully as Steve cradled her daughter, "It wasn't our intention to hide everything for you all. We had intended to tell you about our adoption of Axl, but then I became pregnant. Everything kind of was put on hold. We decided it was best for me to stay here for the duration of the pregnancy, since I wasn't sure what, if any, side effects I would have."

"As it was," Thor interjected, "Freya was born almost a month early."

"How old is she?" Pepper asked, leaning over Steve's shoulder to look at the baby.

"Three weeks, as of yesterday," Thor stated proudly.

"Oh, she's so little," Kit said, running a finger over the baby's tiny fingers.

"And gorgeous," Carter said, "She's absolutely beautiful. But, uh, where did the red hair come from?"

"My mother," Thor said, slight sadness leaking into his tone.

"When did you decide to adopt?" Bruce said, curious as to how the process differed on Asgard.

"How old is Axl?" Betty asked.

"He is ten," Thor said, "A serious boy for his age."

"He was from a an area of Asgard that was attacked a few months ago," Jane said, tucking her feet up under her body, and leaning against Thor's side, "Thor, and Sif, and the Warriors were all fighting there, and they found him. He – we checked to see if there was any family that he could go to. But there was no one."

"So you took him in," Bruce stated.

Jane nodded, "So we took him in. He's so lovely. Serious, like Thor said. He won't call us mom and dad though."

Bruce and Betty shared a look; they had gone through that with Mikey.

"He won't," Betty said, "At least, not for a while. He's only been with you for a little while. At ten, he already had a mom and dad, and he was traumatized. But he will come around."

"That's good to hear," Jane sighed, "I just feel like we're doing something wrong."

"Nah," Bruce said, "Just love him and treat him exactly as you would treat Freya and you'll be good."

A sharp squeal broke through the conversation. Freya was fussing in Bucky's arms.

Bucky winced, "Maybe it was my arm?"

Jane carefully took Freya into her own arms, "I don't think so. She's just hungry."

"Oh," Bucky said. Carter poked his side, and whispered right into his ear, "Not everything is about you, Sarge."

She giggled to let him know she was teasing. Bucky poked her back, "Mean."

"You two are sickeningly sweet together," Natasha said, but she was smiling.

"You're just _revnivyy_," Bucky said.

"_Iz vas? YA dumayu, chto net_," Natasha countered.

"Hey," Clint grumbled, adjusting Ava in his arms, "No talking Russian at the table."

"Why?" Natasha asked innocently, "Half of you speak it."

"And the other half of us?' Kit said, smiling.

"_Vy prosto dolzhny nauchit'sya_," Natasha grinned, winking.

Steve pressed a kiss to the top of Kit's head, "Don't worry. I'll teach you, darling."

"Russian for dummies," Tony laughed.

A sudden, loud crash from just outside the doorway startled everyone.

Darcy's head poked in, "Don't worry. All good. No serious damage to anyone."

And she disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.

Betty and Kit nudged their husbands.

"Go make sure the boys are okay," Betty said.

"Go help him," Kit sighed.

Bruce and Steve pushed off from the couch and headed for the door.

"Maybe we should have dinner before anyone can get into more trouble?" Jane suggested.

"Good choice," Pepper said.

Jane and Thor, once again, led the group into the next room, where a huge feast was set up.

* * *

Hours later everyone was ensconced in their rooms, warm fires blazing behind safety grates.

"So," Bucky said, pulling Carter closer to his chest, "How was your first impression of Asgard?"

Carter yawned, "I love it. I love Axl and Freya. I love this family. Thank you."

"For what?" Bucky said, closing his eyes.

"For bringing me into this madness," Carter said.

"You're welcome," Bucky said, thinking about the small box that was waiting in his sock drawer back home.

* * *

**A/N: First things first (I'm the realest. Sorry, I'll stop) Russian to English translation (In order of appearance): Jealous; Of you? I think not; You'll just have to learn. **

**And now is the part where I apologize _profusely _for the disgustingly long what in-between chapters. I'm terrible, and I know it. November got absurdly busy for me. But now I'm no break for a month, so the wait shouldn't be so long. **

**Please, drop me a review, let me know what you think. I seriously thrive on your comments and feedback. I'm also always open to prompts for this universe and whatnot. **

**So, again, I'm deeply sorry for the wait, and I hope this chapter was worth it. Thanks for sticking with me =D**


	7. Chapter 7

"Aw, shit," Bucky grumbled, "Bart! Where are you?"

Bucky dropped to his knees and looked under Carter's couch. The spaniel was missing and he was a shit boyfriend for letting it happen.

"Bart!" Bucky sing-songed, crawling around the apartment with the dog's favorite squeaky toy.

When the dog didn't reappear, Bucky groaned, dropping the toy to the floor. He leaned back on his haunches, elbows resting on his knees.

Bucky wracked his brain, trying to think of Bart's favorite places to hide. He had checked the dog bed, obvious as it was. His and Carter's room was empty of any pets, the bathroom was clear, and Bart was missing in action.

"Shit!" Bucky exclaimed when he remembered that Liam and Steve had been in the apartment earlier. Steve and Bucky had been going over the plans for the mission that they would be leaving on at the end of the week. Liam had been playing with Bart.

Was it possible that the almost 6 year old had taken the dog with him?

Bucky got to his feet. It was worth checking out.

He headed down a floor, walking into Steve and Kit's home without knocking.

"Hey! Rogers, you around?" Bucky shouted, grabbing an apple off of the kitchen counter.

Steve emerged from Sarah's nursery, the five-month-old strapped to his chest in a baby Bjorn.

"Yeah, what's up?" Steve asked, rocking slightly on the balls of his feet.

Bucky snorted, "Is there a reason you're shirtless?"

"As a matter of fact, there is, smartass," Steve grinned, "Sar's been having trouble sleeping and according to Bruce babies are more relaxed when they have skin to skin contact."

Bucky nodded, "Okay, sure. Whatever you say, Captain Dad."

He had moved forward and stroked the top of Sarah's soft blonde hair, "She gets more beautiful every day."

Steve nodded, looking down at his baby girl, "She really does. It scares me, Buck. Having a daughter."

"You'll figure it out," Bucky nodded as if that made it a fact.

"Speaking of figuring things out," Steve said, still bouncing to relax Sarah, "I've been trying to figure out why you're here. I just saw you an hour ago."

"Right," Bucky said, "I'm looking for Bart."

"Carter's dog?" Steve raised his eyebrows.

"No, Carter's purse," Bucky rolled his eyes, "Of course Carter's dog."

Steve looked at his best friend as if he had grown a second head, "Well, why would he be here?"

"Because I can't find him at our place, and Liam was playing with him when you guys were upstairs," Bucky said, already heading down the hall to Liam's room, "I thought maybe he brought him back down."

Steve was following Bucky; "I think I would've noticed if Liam had a spaniel following him into the elevator."

"I'm just checking. You and Kit are on the sleeping schedule of a newborn. You're brain's aren't firing on all cylinders," Bucky grinned mischievously.

"Ha-ha," Steve deadpanned, "You're a regular Johnny Carson."

Bucky shot back a grin, "We should think about getting me a talk show."

Steve rolled his eyes and muttered to the baby strapped to his chest, "Your uncle is the most annoying person you'll ever meet."

"And damn proud of it," Bucky called over his shoulder, entering Liam's bedroom, "Hey, sprout."

"Uncle Bucky!" Liam shouted, jumping up from his bed, book pushed to the floor," What are you doin' here? Daddy and I just saw you."

Bucky braced his knees as Liam jumped into his arms, "I missed my godson so much I had to come right down and see you again."

Liam grinned, looking like the spitting image of Steve, "Can you stay for a while?"

Bucky shook his head, "Sorry, kiddo. I have a date with Carter tonight. I have to get ready."

Liam sagged in Bucky's arms, "Oh. Okay. Tell Carter I'm reading _Green Eggs and Ham_. It's funny!"

"I'll let her know," Bucky said, "Maybe she'll recommend a new book when you finish that one."

"Cool!" Liam exclaimed, wiggling out of Bucky's arms.

"Liam," Bucky said, "Did Bart come down here with you earlier?"

Liam shook his head, "Nope! I wanted him to come though. Why?"

"No reason," Bucky shook his head, trying to school his features into something that didn't resemble an 'oh shit' expression.

"Kiddo," Steve ruffled Liam's hair, "Clean up your room before Mom gets home, okay?"

Liam nodded, already starting to kick some action figures under his bed.

Bucky and Steve headed back into the living room.

"I'm so dead," Bucky groaned, "I lost my girlfriend's dog. What kind of person am I?"

"I'm sure he's somewhere," Steve said, "He can't have gone far."

Bucky dropped his head to his hands, "I'm going to have to explain to Carter that I lost her dog. He was supposed to be with me for a few hours."

Steve rested his hand on the top of Sarah's head, "Go back and look in your place. I'll see if any of the others have seen him."

"I'm so dead," Bucky grumbled, heading back for his floor.

* * *

Bucky had given his and Carter's place another thorough inspection. Bart was nowhere to be found.

The front door opened, and Bucky jumped up, hoping it was Steve with the dog.

"Oh," he deflated when he saw Carter, paper grocery bags in her arms.

"Oh?" Carter said, raising an eyebrow, "Wow, what a greeting."

"Sorry," Bucky said, stepping forward to take the grocery bags from her hands, "I was expecting –"

He cut himself off, not wanting to mention the MIA status of Bart.

"Clearly not me," Carter finished, "You have a secret girlfriend on the side? Does she only come over when I'm gone?"

She was laughing, so Bucky knew she wasn't mad.

"Yeah, nothing like that," he laughed nervously.

"So," Carter said, casually, "Where's Bart? He's usually attacking me at the door."

Bucky looked around nervously, "Uh, about that…"

He paused. Wait a minute, there was something…

Carter bit her lip, and Bucky could see that she was having trouble holding in laughter.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked, crossing his arms.

A giggle escaped, "I'm sorry, but you should see your face. You look so freaked out."

She whistled, and Bart suddenly appeared at the open door.

Bucky's mouth dropped open, "What? But, he… how?"

"He was waiting for me in the front lobby," carter said, bending down to pick up the dog. She scratched behind his ears, "I don't know how he got out, but he was just sitting there, head on his paws, waiting."

Bucky grudgingly scratched Bart's head, "This dog is too smart for me."

"Oh yeah," Carter smiled proudly, "My baby is smarter than super serum'd soldier brains."

She pressed a kiss to the top of Bart's head, and looked up at Bucky from underneath her eyelashes, "Don't pout, Barnes. It's not a good look on you."

"He does this on purpose," Bucky called to Carter's retreating back as she headed into their bedroom.

"Keep telling yourself that," she shot back, and Bucky could hear her laughter even after the door shut.

"Outsmarted by a dog," Bucky shook his head, "Unbelievable."

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry for the long wait in between chapters. I'm a terrible updater, and I'm sorry. **

**Anyway, this was a prompt from Singer of Water (winter-is-ending on Tumblr. Y'all should follow her). She asked for something with Bucky, Carter and Bart. This is what my brain came up with. Hope you guys like it! Leave me a review and let me know what you think =D**


	8. Chapter 8

"Peter is coming down for a quick meeting," Steve said as Kit put a plate of eggs in front of him.

Kit cocked her eyebrow and nodded, "And?"

Steve grinned, "And can you keep Liam occupied? We can't have the kids barging in on us."

He forked the eggs and took a large bite.

Kit nodded, tucking into her own breakfast of oatmeal, "Of course. But you know that if he gets wind that Uncle Peter was here and didn't see him, Liam's going to freak out."

Steve nudged her knee under the table with his, "I know. That's why Peter's going to pop in and say hi after the meeting."

"Good planning," Kit laughed, sighing when she heard Sarah's cry.

"I've got her," Steve said, "Sit and eat."

Kit smiled up at her husband, "You're a good dad."

Steve winked and headed off to the nursery. He passed Liam's room on the way; one peek inside showed the 5-year-old busy playing with action figures on the bed.

He didn't want to bother his son, so Steve went into the nursery without saying anything to Liam.

And there was Sarah, crying her little lungs off in her crib.

"Hey, baby girl," Steve said softly, gently picking up the 6-month-old baby and holding her to his chest.

She kicked and squirmed, crying still. Steve laughed; both his kids were the same. Constantly moving.

"What's wrong, Sar?" He asked, bouncing slightly, "Diaper change? Breakfast?"

The baby's cries quieted, but she made small grunting noises instead. An errant fist smacked Steve in the chest.

He laughed and pressed a kiss to the downy blonde hair on top of her head, "We'll try and diaper change and then breakfast. How's that sound?"

Sarah made a gurgling sound that Steve interpreted as a yes. Steve changed the dirty diaper and headed back into the kitchen.

Liam was sitting at the island, kicking his heels against the rung on the stool, eating scrambled eggs and toast.

He saw Steve and beamed, "Hey Daddy! Mommy made me eggs."

"That's great, kiddo," Steve reached out to ruffled Liam's hair, "Make sure you finish all of it."

Liam nodded and shoveled more forkfuls of eggs into his mouth. Sarah squealed when she saw Liam. He waved at his little sister, mumbling something around his mouthful of eggs.

"Swallow, baby," Kit reminded gently, taking Sarah from Steve's arms.

She cooed at the baby, shuffling around to let Sarah breastfeed.

"Daddy? Can you play scientist with me and Mikey and Axl?" Liam asked, kicking his feet against the side of the counter.

"Sorry, bud," Steve shook his head, "I have an important meeting today. But maybe tonight?"

"Okay," Liam shrugged, sliding off of the stool, "I'm going to see Mikey!"

"Make sure you tell Aunt Betty to call me when you get down there," Kit reminded.

"Uh-huh," Liam said, gathering his action figures into his arms.

Steve watched as Liam headed out of the door and listened as his footsteps disappeared down the hall.

"I can't believe we're letting him go around on his own," Steve shook his head.

"It's only down one floor," Kit said, "He's a smart kid."

"Oh, I know," Steve grinned, "He takes after me."

Kit rolled her eyes, "What? Did that serum inflate your ego too?"

She leaned up on tiptoes to kiss him.

"Have a good play date," she laughed.

Steve mock-pouted, "You know they're not play dates, Kit. They're grown-up meetings in the grown-up conference room."

Kit laughed, "Get out of here."

Steve snuck a quick kiss and grabbed his phone off the counter before running out the door.

Kit brushed her hand over Sarah's downy hair, "Daddy's crazy, isn't he?"

Sarah gurgled and then spit up on Kit's shirt.

"Urgh," Kit winced, "Sometimes I wish you little ones came with warning buttons."

Sarah gave a gummy smile as Kit carried her into the nursery.

"Yeah, yeah," Kit rolled her eyes affectionately, "You're adorable. We all know that."

* * *

"We have Thanos completely contained," Peter said, leaning back in his chair and twirling a pen.

"You're positive?" Bruce asked, leaning forward on his elbow.

Peter nodded, "As positive as my name is Star-Lord."

Tony rolled his eyes, "Calling yourself by a nickname is so clichéd, Quill."

"Whatever you say, Iron Man," Peter shot back, a bright grin on his face.

Tony leaned back in his chair, "Touché."

"And what of the Infinity Stones?" Thor asked, crossing his arms across his chest. He had a personal interest in the Stones since the Mind Stone was what gave Loki some of his powers.

"In very safe hands," Peter said, "You guys worry about this stuff way too much."

"You do not worry about it enough," Thor snapped, on edge as usual when matters involved Loki, even tangentially.

Steve put a hand out, "Thor..."

Thor looked down at Steve, hot under the collar, "He does not take the security of the Stones seriously enough."

"I know," Steve nodded, ignoring the indignant noise Peter made, "Would you feel better if Peter let you check on the Stones yourself?"

Thor considered this for a moment and then nodded, "Yes, that would be acceptable to me."

Peter shrugged, "Whatever, big guy. Tell me when and where."

Bucky leaned back in his chair, "I'm so confused and yet, I want none of this explained to me."

Clint stuck a finger in each ear and announced, "Tell me when this is over so I can raise the volume on the ol' hearing aids again."

Natasha pinched his thigh, "Stop acting stupid. You'd better pay attention."

Clint yelped at the pain and shot his wife a frown, but he fiddled with the volume on his hearing aids anyway.

"Are we done here?" Tony asked, "As much as I love getting briefed on the spacey things that are mostly out of my control, I have plans with Pep and Eddie."

"Who would have thought we'd see the day where Tony Stark would be leaving meetings to spend time with a kid?" Bruce laughed, teasing his friend.

"I like to subvert expectations," Tony smirked, gathering up his bag of dried strawberries and heading out.

The meeting slowly disbanded, little groups breaking off as they went.

Natasha and Clint left first, discussing Ava's sniffle and wondering if they should take her to the doctor.

Thor and Bruce were next to leave. The rest of the group wasn't sure, but they were working on some kind of research project to do with the Bifrost. To be honest, Tony was the only one who actually understood what they were talking about.

Peter hung back to leave with Steve and Bucky.

"You got time to see Liam?" Steve asked, "The kid loves you and he'd flip out if he knew you were down."

"Oh yeah!" Peter grinned, "I'd love to see the kid. And the new one. A girl, right?"

Steve beamed, "Yeah, Sarah Margaret. She's great."

Bucky accidentally knocked his metal arm against the wall, causing a loud shriek.

"Oops. Sorry," he laughed, much more used to the sound.

Peter's eyes twinkled, "Don't let Rocket see that arm. He'll rip it right off of you."

"Seriously?" Bucky asked, lifting one of his eyebrows.

"Well, no. Probably not," Peter said, "But better safe than sorry."

"Good to know," Bucky said warily, rubbing his metal fingertips together.

* * *

"Uncle Pete!" Liam shouted when he looked up from his homework and saw his father and uncles at the door.

Peter grinned and held his arms open as he kneeled down, "Short stack! How ya been?"

Liam bum-rushed Peter, knocking the intergalactic superhero flat on his back.

"Oooof," Peter grunted, catching an elbow to his chest, "You got big, short stack."

Liam grinned proudly, "I know. Mom says I'm gonna eat her out of all of her money."

Kit snorted from the kitchen, "You got that right. Between him and Steve, it's a never ending battle to keep the fridge stocked."

Peter waved, "Hi Kit."

"How's space?" She laughed, leaning up to accept a kiss from Steve and a hug from Bucky.

"Spacious," Peter grinned, standing up and lifting Liam onto his hip.

"Funny," Bucky deadpanned, putting together a sandwich.

"I try," Peter swiped a slice of turkey.

"Hey, Uncle Pete?" Liam patted Peter's cheek, "Didja bring me anything?"

"What have we said, Liam?" Steve chastised gently, "It's not polite to ask people if they brought you anything."

Liam grunted, "It's not p'lite. Sorry, Uncle Pete."

Peter winked, "It's all good, kiddo."

Then, when he was sure Steve, Bucky, and Kit were distracted, Peter pulled a small device from his bag and handed it to Liam, "I did bring you something, buddy. But you have to be very careful with it, okay?"

Liam's eyes widened with glee as he carefully took the object, "What's it do?"

"Uh, well," Peter hedged, "It's something that you can only use when you come and visit me, okay?"

Liam nodded distractedly, running his little fingers over the buttons.

"Can I show it to Mikey?" he asked, already wiggling out of Peter's arms.

Peter shrugged, "I don't see why not. Just be careful."

Liam ran off, shouting out to his parents that he would be down on the Banner's floor.

Peter checked his watch, "I'd better go. Can't leave Rocket alone for too long, he starts to get crazy ideas."

Steve reached out to shake his hand, "Good to see you again, Peter. We'll be in touch about setting up a visit for Thor."

Peter nodded and grabbed his jacket before heading up to the top of Avengers Tower where his ship was waiting.

He didn't have to wait long to hear from his colleagues on Earth. A message came from Kit the next day.

* * *

"PETER QUILL, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" Kit was in a complete rage.

"What did I do?" Peter asked leaning forward in his seat to squint at the video screen. Was Kit's hair sticking up in the air?

"What did you do?" Kit laughed harshly, "Could it possibly be the ANTI-GRAVITY DEVICE YOU GAVE MY SON YESTERDAY?"

Peter scratched his nose, "Oh, that."

"THAT!" Kit yelled, moving to slam her hand on the counter and then scrambling to grab back onto it so she wouldn't tilt upside down, "How do we FIX IT?"

Peter snorted, "The kid wasn't supposed to hit any of the buttons."

Kit glared, and Peter could see a couch pillow float past her head, "He's 6! All he does is press buttons! We've hit every single button on the stupid thing. How do we put gravity back?"

"It's the little red one," Peter said, "Underneath the cover on the bottom."

He watched as Kit pulled the gadget from her pocket with one hand and hit the button.

She landed in a heap on the floor with a thumping noise and Peter refrained from laughing.

"I hate you, Peter," Kit grumbled, getting to her feet, "You're just lucky that Sarah is out with Nat, because if my baby was floating around on the ceiling, you'd be in pieces."

"Sorry?" Peter tried, "I won't do it again?"

"You'd better not," Kit sighed, rubbing at her arm, "It would be a shame for the Guardians to lose their leader."

She abruptly cut the connection, leaving Peter to look at a blank screen.

"She sounded mad," Gamora commented from her seat.

"She'll get over it," Peter laughed.

Rocket poked his head out from the machine he was working on, "Does that mean I should get that moon dust launcher I sent returned?"

"I am Groot."

"I _know _he's a kid and moon dust is flammable, but it's fun to shoot at people."

Peter shook his head, "Kit's going to kill me."

* * *

**A/N: Oh my God! I am so sorry for the completely unacceptably long wait. I've been hit with the worse case of writer's block ever and I don't like anything that I write lately. But, I've had this chapter in the works for a while and I really wanted to finish it and publish it for you guys to enjoy. **

**So, I hope you enjoy and drop me a review to let me know what you think. I do have more ideas for this series and I will be working on them, hopefully I'll be able to post another chapter within a reasonable time frame!**

**In the meantime, I hope the fact that this chapter is pretty long makes up for the fact that the wait was really long. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

"Dad?" Mikey asked absently.

Bruce looked up from the report he was reading, "Yeah, Mike?"

"Are you friends with Superman?" The first grader asked, fiddling with the Superman action figure in his hands.

Bruce wrinkled his forehead and put the file down, "With who?"

"Superman!" Mikey said with an eye-roll and an exasperated sigh that was scarily similar to Betty's.

"Like the comic book character?" Bruce asked, trying to clarify.

Mikey abandoned his action figures and scrambled to sit on the couch next to his father, "No! The superhero!"

When Bruce didn't answer immediately, Mikey sighed, "Dad! Liam and I want to meet Superman and Batman and since they're superheroes like you guys, you can introduce us."

The reality that he currently faced hit Bruce and he laughed slightly, "How about we call Uncle Steve and see if he and Liam want to come down here and we'll talk?"

Mikey nodded, "Great! Then we won't even have to get Liam when you bring Superman here."

Bruce groaned as he called Steve; this was not going to be easy.

* * *

Mikey bum rushed the door when he heard voices on the other side.

Yanking it open, he shouted, "Dad's gonna introduce us to Superman!"

Liam grinned, "And Batman?"

"Probably," Mikey said conspiratorially, leading Steve and Liam into the living room.

The two boys plunked onto the ground as Steve shot Bruce a look.

Bruce knew that look. He chuckled. It meant Steve was mildly out of his element.

"So, when can we meet Superman?" Liam asked, bouncing a little out of excitement.

"And Batman!" Mikey added, "I wanna see the Batmobile."

"Oh oh oh and can we meet Wonder Woman?" Liam grinned, "I wanna use her lasso to see if Uncle Clint ate my last cookie!"

Steve snorted, "You don't need a truth lasso to know that Uncle Clint ate your cookie."

Liam bumped his fist against the carpet, "When can we meet them?"

Bruce and Steve both sat on the couch in front of the boys.

"Well," Bruce started, "You can't exactly meet Superman and Batman."

"Why?" Liam asked.

"Is it cause they got secret 'dentities to protect?" Mikey asked, leaning forward on his elbows.

Steve shook his head, "No. Well, they do have secret identities. But..."

He hesitated. Neither man really wanted to squash their sons' excitement.

Bruce jumped in, "You know how SpongeBob is just a cartoon and doesn't really exist?"

Mikey nodded, "Yeah. Mom 'splained it to me. She said that sponges live in the ocean but they don't talk or make Krabby Patties."

"Good," Bruce said, "So you understand when something isn't real."

Liam and Mikey nodded, ready for their dads to get to the point.

"Well, the thing is," Steve said, "Batman and Superman are like SpongeBob. They only exist in comic books."

Liam blinked at his dad, the words sinking in. Mikey shook his head, "No. Uncle Steve, that's not right."

Steve winced at the tinge of betrayal in Mikey's tone.

"I'm sorry, guys, but the Justice League is only in comics and cartoons," Bruce said.

"But you have comic books!" Liam pointed out, jumping to his feet.

"And a cartoon show," Mikey said, scrambling to stand up too.

At that moment, with his son and nephew looking at him with wide, upset eyes, Steve was ready to kill Tony for making a TV deal.

"I know we do," Steve said, "But when you watch the show, some of that stuff is made up. Like, have you ever seen Uncle Thor get lost at Disney World?"

Mikey shook his head, "Uncle Thor's not as dumb as the cartoon makes him. He never even got lost at Disney, not once."

"Right," Bruce nodded his agreement, "So, just because something is on a cartoon or in a comic book, doesn't mean it's real."

"But why?" Liam moaned, "You're superheroes and have comic books. I thought they were the truth."

"I'm sorry, buddy," Steve said, pulling Liam to sit on his lap, "I know you really like Superman, but there's no way to meet him."

"This sucks," Mikey pouted.

"How about we go for ice cream to make it up to you?" Bruce suggested.

That perked the boys right up.

"Yeah!" Liam pumped his fist in the air.

"Let's go!" Mikey tugged on Bruce's arm.

Bruce and Steve stood up and allowed them to be pulled out of the apartment and into the elevator.

On the way out of the Tower, after both boys had stopped to chat with Happy, Liam asked, "Does this mean Mickey Mouse isn't real too?"

Steve shot Bruce a look of pure panic.

"What about Santa?" Mikey asked, swinging his arms merrily.

"Hey, look!" Steve pointed, "Ice cream shop. Let's go."

Bruce exhaled a sigh of relief as the boys darted into the shop.

"Next time this comes up," Steve said, sotto voce to Bruce, "We're sending them to Kit and Betty."

"Agreed."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I'm basically the worst at updating this series. I apologize for that. But now that the semester is over for me, I'll get back into it. Also, I think from here on out, the sort won't be going chronologically. I'm just going to write the chapters as they come to me. I think that'll be easier and hopefully, will make updates come quicker. **

**The idea behind this drabble came from one of my conversations with JuliaAurelia. Hope you love it! :D**

**As always, I'm open to prompts of all kinds. (But, PLEASE DON"T SPOIL AOU FOR ME. I'm seeing it tomorrow night. At this point, I'm trying to be as spoiler free as possible!)**


	10. Chapter 10

"Rise and shine, hawkling," Clint sing-songed, yanking the covers off of Ava's bed.

His 16-year-old daughter groaned loudly and shoved her head under the pillow.

"No," her voice was muffled, "I won't and you can't make me."

Clint laughed, "Kiddo, you're shorter than your mom, I can throw you over my shoulder and we'll be out of here in five."

One corner of the pillow lifted and Ava glared at her dad with one green eye.

"I hate you," she muttered, kicking at his hand.

"Love you too," he grinned, "Now grab your flannels, we're off to the farm."

Ava moaned and curled up in a little ball, making it clear she had no intentions of moving.

Clint shook his head and took a sip of coffee from his travel mug; "I really hope your mom is having better luck with your brother."

* * *

In the next room over, Natasha was sitting on the edge of her son's bed, biding her time.

She had sent the 10-year-old to bed at 9 the night before, and if her math was right, waking him up in 5 minutes would be right at the end of his REM cycle, making it really easy for him to get up.

Natasha watched, a soft smile on her face, as Maks' eyelids twitched in his sleep. She wondered what he was dreaming of.

Natasha looked at her watch and smiled before gently nudging Maks' shoulder.

"Maks, get up. We're leaving soon," she smoothed a hand over his back and Maks muttered something under his breath.

"What did you say, маленькая обезьянка?" _Little monkey._ She asked, pulling the covers back.

"Can I ride my лошадь?" _Horse. _He asked, rolling onto his back and blinking sleepily at the light from his lamp.

Natasha laughed, "Da. Of course. I'll even race you."

Maks grinned, showing off his missing eye teeth, "I'm gonna beat you this time."

"We'll see," Natasha grinned, leaning forward to plant a kiss on her son's forehead, "But we won't know until you get dressed and we get going."

Maks was already hopping out of bed before Natasha could finish her sentence.

"My cowboy hat is still at the farm, right?" He asked, struggling into a long sleeved Iron Man t-shirt.

Natasha rolled her eyes at the merchandise that Tony had given her son as a "just because" present, "Yes. Your hat and boots are still at the farm."

She made the bed quickly, straightening the few stuffed toys that still lingered in her baby's room.

"Brush you teeth and come to the kitchen for breakfast, Maks," she said, bending down and grabbing her son's duffel bag before she left.

* * *

"I don't understand why we couldn't have taken the Quinjet," Ava said, simultaneously texting Sarah Rogers to complain about the car ride.

The fact that her best friend was still home in New York and working her way through all the best food trucks in town with her younger brother, AJ, and Eddie Stark was driving her even more insane than her own younger brother.

Clint stopped singing along to the radio for a minute to answer, "Because, Ava, my darling, driving out to the countryside is what makes the experience."

Natasha hid a small smile as her daughter rolled her eyes.

"Mom," Maks said, "Can we go hiking too?"

Natasha nodded, "Whatever you guys want. We're here until Monday afternoon. Plenty of time for fun."

Clint reached over to squeeze her knee and shoot her a happy grin.

Ava's teenage angst melted a little as she watched her parents have a silent conversation with their eyes. It was kind of nice to see her parents still in love.

Especially considering one was a former assassin and the other was a sharpshooter known for never missing his target.

* * *

"On your mark, get set, GO!" Ava shouted, spurring her horse into a gallop. She giggled wildly as the chestnut mare galloped through the field, sending the wind whipping through her hair.

"Hey! Slow down," Maks whined from behind her, "Simba isn't as fast as Zeus."

Clint and Natasha were taking a more leisurely ride behind their kids, a picnic basket resting on the saddle behind Clint.

"I knew she'd mellow out," Clint grinned.

"Of course she did," Natasha said, "She's just upset that we pulled her away from Sarah and Eddie for their long weekend."

Clint sighed, his smile slipping, "I feel bad about that. But, with the new undercover happening next week, I wanted to spend some quality time with them."

Natasha nodded, "I know, Clint. I get it. I think Ave gets it too. Once she woke up, she was a little clingy."

"I noticed," Clint said, looking out at where their kids were riding, "You think we're doing right by them? We're gone almost as much as we're home."

Natasha chewed at her lower lip, "I think so. We're doing the best we can, Clint. They know what we do, they love us, and they're not little criminals. We're trying."

"You ever think about getting out?" Clint asked, adjusting his hat.

Natasha frowned, "I thought this was supposed to be a happy, easy weekend at the farm, Barton?"

Clint laughed quickly and easily, "Sorry! Okay, no more talk about that. Happy stuff. Light stuff. Wait! We need to plot against Barnes and Carter. They drank the last of my special coffee blend on Wednesday."

"We'll consult the kids during lunch," Natasha smiled slyly, "Maks is becoming quite the prankster."

"We've taught them well," Clint said proudly, resting his hand over his heart.

* * *

"Daddy?" Ava followed Clint closely the next morning as he gathered up eggs and started to feed the chickens.

Clint paused. Ava only called him 'Daddy' when she was scared or nervous about something.

"What's up, baby?" He asked, turning to lean against the chicken coop so he could face her.

Ava tugged her hair over her shoulder, the thick red strands woven into a loose French braid, and twisted the free ends around her fingers.

"I know you and Mom said you didn't want us joining the family business, but I've been helping Aunt Maria after school some days and I really like it and I want to work for SHIELD when I graduate," Ava let all of the words out on one breath and her shoulders slumped when she finished.

Clint was quiet as Ava's words sunk in. Then he grinned, "Hey, if that's what you want to do, Mom and I will support you."

Ava's eyebrows raised, "Really?"

Clint scoffed and slung his arms around Ava in a hug, "Yeah, really. What? Did you think we were gonna disown you?"

"I dunno," Ava mumbled into Clint's flannel shirt, "You just never seemed to want us involved."

Clint rested his chin on Ava's head, "I didn't want you to feel like you had to join. If you want to join on your own account, then SHIELD is lucky to have you."

Ava pulled back and quickly kissed Clint's cheek, "Thanks, dad!"

She grabbed the basket of eggs and darted back to the house.

Clint followed at a more leisurely pace, pretty proud of his kid.

* * *

"Ave wants to join SHIELD when she graduates," Clint said in between pressing kisses to Natasha's back.

Natasha hummed, "What did you tell her?"

"That." Kiss. "We." Kiss. "Support." Kiss. "Her."

"Good," Natasha purred, flipping so she was straddling Clint's lap, "Now that we've established that we're good parents, let's not talk."

"I love not talking," Clint grinned, gripping Natasha's hips tightly.

She crushed her lips to his and there was no more talking.

* * *

**A/N: Whoooo! I FINALLY saw AoU (and I'm ignoring all of the romantic entanglements that start with Brucetsha and end with Clint having a hidden wife and kids) (also Pietro's death didn't happen, but that's a story for a different oneshot). **

**Onto the story! Now that we're not going chronologically, we're ****getting to see some older Barton kids! I hope you guys like Ava and Maks as much as you like Liam and Mikey! **

**I have some more ideas that are going to be written in the coming weeks, but as always, drop me a review letting me know what you think and include a prompt or two if you want! **

**I'll be away starting at 2 this afternoon, but I'll have my phone on me if you guys want to chat AoU! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

"Oh, I don't wike it," Steve mumbled under his breath as they faced a legion of HYDRA soldiers. He shifted his stance and went to speak into the comms.

Tony beat him to it.

"Are we going to discuss the fact that Captain Star Spangled just said 'I don't wike it'?" He said, and everyone could hear the giddy joy in his voice.

Steve grunted in response as he slammed his shield into the head of a HYDRA agent.

"Having problems there, Cap?" Clint grinned, sending off a barrage of arrows and taking down an enemy with each one.

"He doesn't 'wike' these HYDRA guys," Natasha laughed, hitting one man with her Widow's Bite and using the momentum to toss his limp body into a second enemy.

"I hate all of you," Steve grumbled, taking out his aggression by punching a HYDRA soldier that was stupid enough to rush at him.

"Barnes!" Clint said into his comms, "Did Steve talk like this back in the day?"

Bucky, metal arm wrapped around the neck of one of the bad guys, laughed, "Nah. But a skinny punk from Brooklyn messing up his 'L's? He'd have gotten beat up even more than he already did."

"You're supposed to be on my side, Buck," Steve grimaced, holding up his shield so Thor cold reflect a bolt of lightning off of it.

"I do not understand what the problem with your speech is," Thor said, grinning broadly as half a dozen HYDRA agents were knocked down by the bolt.

Steve shook his head, "You're the only one, Thor."

"We've got the clear," Tony said from above, touching down on the HYDRA base they were infiltrating.

"Good," Steve said, "Let's get in and get out."

"Don't you mean 'wet's'?" Bucky grinned, elbowing Steve in the side.

"Jerk," Steve punched his best friend in the arm.

"But seriously," Natasha said, quietly appearing behind the two men, "Where did that impediment come from?"

Steve snorted, "Sarah. She can't pronounce her 'L's or 'R's. It's damn adorable."

"Until you pick up the impediment yourself," Clint laughed through the comms, "I'm downloading the material off of the computer I found now."

"Copy," was the response he got from his teammates.

"There's a lot of paper documents here," Tony said as he prowled through the basement of the facility.

"Can you scan them?" Steve asked, poking through the rooms.

"Can I scan them?" Tony scoffed, "Does Thor 'wike' Poptarts?"

"I believe the answer is yes, Man of Iron," Thor added.

* * *

The team landed back at the Tower later that night, so late it was practically morning.

"Ungghhh, 'm dead," Clint groaned, leaning against the entryway to the Tower. Natasha was tucked against his side, eyes half shut.

"Let's call it a night," Steve smothered a yawn, "We can look through the files in the morning."

Tony nodded, patting his pocket where the USB drive rested, "Brucie and I will take a peek in the morning. See what we can find."

"I'm off to bed," Bucky said, "Carter's probably wide awake, worrying."

Steve nodded and clapped his friend on the back, "Everyone get some rest. We deserve it."

The team broke apart, yawning and stumbling to their separate areas of the Tower.

Steve headed down to his and Kit's floor, hoping he wouldn't wake his family up.

He didn't have to worry.

Sarah was wide awake when he got home.

"DADDDDDYYYYY!" She shrieked when he stepped into her line of sight, flinging her little body at Steve.

He dropped his shield quickly and caught her from the air.

"Hi baby," he kissed the top of her head, "Why aren't you asleep?"

She pouted at him, her big blue eyes getting sad, "I don't wike sweep!"

Steve smothered a smile at her pronunciation.

Kit came down the hallway, looking exhausted, "Oh! I thought I heard your voice. I was just checking to see if Liam was still asleep."

Steve crossed the room in three steps, Sarah still hanging onto his neck, so he could kiss his wife hello. One hand went automatically to Kit's small protruding belly.

"How's #3?" He asked quietly, thumb rubbing circles over Kit's t-shirt.

Kit rolled her eyes, "Awake like his big sister."

Steve grinned, "Why don't you go get in bed? I'll handle the maverick."

Kit sighed, "That sounds like a great idea. She was asleep for a while, but something bugged her. And now she won't sit still."

"I don't wike sitting, Mama!" Sarah huffed, lifting her head from where it was tucked into the crook of Steve's neck.

"I know, sweet pea," Kit said, twisting a few fingers in Sarah's dark blonde curls, "But Mama likes sitting and she likes sleeping even better."

Sarah scrunched up her nose, "No!"

Steve rubbed Sarah's back, "How about we let Mommy got to bed, maverick? We can have some Daddy-Sarah time."

"No sweep?" Sarah looked at Steve with wide eyes.

With a wink aimed at Kit, Steve said, "No sleep."

"Bye, Mommy!" Sarah grinned, showing off her tiny, white baby teeth. She waved happily at Kit while hugging Steve's neck with the other arm.

Kit snorted, "Good luck, Captain."

She pressed a soft kiss to Steve's shoulder and patted his hip as she padded back down to their bedroom.

Steve looked at his daughter, "Okay, Sar, it's you and me. What's the plan?"

Sarah wiggled out of Steve's grip and bounced over to the couch, "I'm jumpin'."

She jumped up and down on the couch cushions, giving Steve a minute to shed the outer layer of his gear.

"What woke you up, Sarah?" Steve asked quietly, holding his arms out to make sure Sarah didn't fall off of the couch.

Sarah shrugged, "Dunno. Bad dream, maybe?"

Steve reached out to tickle his toddler's side, "Bad dreams can't get you, Daddy's here!"

Sarah giggled loudly, kicking her legs in the air, "Daddy! Daddy, stop!" She gasped, breathlessly.

Steve laughed and held her close, squeezing her in a tight hug.

"You missed bedtime, Daddy," Sarah sighed into his neck.

Ah! That's what the problem was.

"I'm sorry, Sar," Steve said, sinking down to sit on the couch, "I would've been here if I could."

Sarah, one fist bunching up Steve's Under Armor shirt, sighed, "I wanted you to tuck me in."

Steve exhaled a breath; he hated this. Rubbing a hand in small circles against Sarah's back, he murmured, "I'm here now, baby. Do you want to try and sleep?"

Sarah shrugged again, "Can we watch TV?"

"Yeah," Steve nodded, ignoring the rising emotion as Sarah cuddled closer, "We can watch TV."

He flipped on the TV and found a kiddie station. Sarah spread out across his chest as Steve leaned back against the couch pillows.

The weight of his daughter on his chest was comforting and Steve found his eyelids growing heavy.

* * *

Kit found them like that when she woke up for the day a few hours later.

Sarah's thumb was planted firmly under her top teeth and her free hand was resting on Steve's cheek.

For his part, both of Steve's hands were cradling their daughter's back.

"Hey," she whispered, brushing back the matted hair from Steve's forehead.

"Mmm?" He hummed, cracking open one gorgeous eye, "Wha t'me s'it?"

"Early, 6:30," she said, still running her fingers through Steve's hair, "I've got to get Liam up for school soon."

Steve hummed, "Let me move Sar and I'll help you with breakfast."

He shifted slowly, gathering Sarah into his arms. She stirred, making soft noises, and Steve paused, letting her fall back asleep.

Sarah stayed asleep as Steve transferred her into her own bed.

Kit was busy putting bread in the toaster when Steve came back into the kitchen.

"How'd you get her to sleep?" Kit asked, leaning against the counter, "She flat out refused a million times before you got home."

Steve rubbed a hand over his face, "She wanted me to tuck her in. I wasn't here."

"It's not your fault, Steve," Kit said, resting her hands on his biceps and squeezing comfortingly, "You missed one bedtime. That doesn't make you a bad dad."

Steve gave his wife a wry smile, "Thanks."

She grinned, "Now go shower and get ready. If you miss Liam's class trip to the Met, then you're a bad dad!"

She swatted gently at Steve's chest and he laughed his way to the bathroom.

* * *

**A/N: Naturally, Steve's mimicking of Sarah's speech impediment is a direct lift from Chris' mimicking of his nephew's speech impediment. I'm obsessed with that, so I had to add it in! LEt me know what you think about this chapter and please drop me a review!**

**My inbox is always open to more prompts! :D**


	12. Chapter 12

At 19 years old, Axl Odinson was as tall as Thor and almost as muscular. He was handsome, all dark eyes, thick curly hair, a chiseled jaw, and angular cheekbones.

He was also constantly followed around by a heard of faux cousins of all ages, ranging from 15 to 5.

The constant chatter and chaos would drive a normal teenager crazy.

He loved it.

After the loss of his own parents, being adopted by Thor and Jane - Mom and Dad, to separate them from Mother and Father - and the greater Avengers family, the formerly angry and quiet little boy had grown into a confident, funny, loud young man.

And being with his younger sister and the cousins that came along with being part of the Avenger family was something that he would never, ever complain about.

(Okay, he's complained a few times. But, when a gaggle of elementary aged kids barge into a room when he's trying to talk to the smart, pretty intern that worked for his Aunt Darcy, what's a red-blooded Asgardian supposed to do?)

So naturally, the two-week family vacation at Uncle Clint and Aunt Nat's farm should've been awesome.

"Should have been" being the key phrase here.

In hindsight, it all started when Axl, 15-year-old Mike, and 14-year-old Liam (thick as thieves, despite the age difference) had found the rope tied to the top rafter in the barn.

Intent on exploring every bit of the land, they had taken a time out to use the rope to swing from the loft of the barn into a pile of hay.

"Mike!" Axl shouted from the loft, "Pile more hay. It's gonna hurt when we jump if there's not enough."

Mike frowned and pushed his glasses higher up on his nose, "Are you sure about this? That loft is really high."

Liam lobbed a hunk of hay at his best friend. It fell apart mid-air and dropped pathetically to the ground feet away from Mike.

"Live on the wild side, Mikey!" Liam grinned, looking extraordinarily like his father, "A little jump's not gonna kill you."

"Says the kid who has a freakish ability to heal," Mike grumbled good-naturedly. But he heaped a few more bales of hay onto the already substantial pile.

Axl grinned down at his pseudo-cousins, "Ready?"

Liam grinned like the daredevil maniac he was and Mike muttered, "I hope you don't die."

Axl laughed and swung off the loft landing, shouting "CANONBALL!" as he fell through the air and landed in the pile of hay.

Mike and Liam rushed forward to see if Axl was okay.

The Asgardian popped up, hair mussed and hay sticking out every which way. He was grinning broadly, eyes twinkling with adrenaline.

"That was AWESOME," he exclaimed, "Get up there and jump."

Mike and Liam shared a look. Three seconds later they were scrambling over each other to get to the ladder for the loft.

"What are you doing?" Eddie Stark poked his head around the opening to the barn. The older boys could see the twin red heads of Freya and Ava, and the blonde braids of Sarah just behind him.

Liam paused halfway up the ladder, Mike just two rungs below him.

They shot Axl, still sitting in the hay pile, a look, imploring him to take over the situation.

"Nothing," he said quickly, not wanting the younger kids to jump from the loft.

"Yeah, okay," Ava scoffed, putting her hands on her hips and giving them a Look worthy of Natasha herself, "We're supposed to believe you?"

"We want in," Eddie exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of his feet and rubbing his hands together, "I'm up for some fun."

Axl jumped up and brushed the stray from his shorts, "This is dumb anyway. How about we go swimming? We'll grab the rest of the kids and play Marco Polo."

Liam and Mike jumped off the ladder and started agreeing with Axl, chattering over each other.

Sarah shook her head, "Nooo! We want to do what you guys are doing!"

"Nah," Liam shook his head and ruffled his sister's hair, "We're not doing anything fun. Let's go swim."

Sarah huffed under Liam's hand and ducked away, "You're the worst."

"Wouldn't be your big brother if I were anything else," he grinned and then grabbed her, tossing her in a fireman's carry over his shoulder.

"Liammmm!" she shrieked, giggling, "Let me down!"

Mike and Axl shared a grin. Axl tossed Freya and Eddie over his shoulders and Mike grabbed Ava.

Running the few feet to the pool, the older boys tossed the four 9-year-olds into the calm water.

"That was mean, Ax!" Freya sputtered, pushing wet strands of auburn hair out of her eyes.

Ava splashed Mike and Liam as they doubled over laughing at the angry expressions on the kids' faces.

"Sorry, Free," Axl laughed, cannonballing into the pool.

And that should've been the end of it.

But of course it wasn't.

* * *

A day or so later, Axl, Mike, and Liam were having a catch when Eddie ran up to them in absolute hysterics.

The boys dropped to the ground and Axl grabbed Eddie, "Hey, Ed, come on. What's going on?"

Liam and Mike leaned slightly away, wary of tears coming from anyone.

"W-we...it was an a-accident," Eddie wailed, sobbing uncontrollably.

"What was an accident?" Axl said, gently and rationally, exposing shades of his personality that were all Jane, "Tell me and I can help."

"W-we wanted to j-jump l-like you," Eddie cried, "a-and J-jilly s-slipped and now she's DEAD!"

He threw himself into Axl's chest and sobbed hysterically.

Axl, Mike, and Liam went white.

"Okay," Axl said, snapping into adult mode, "Let's go. I'm sure she's okay."

He put Eddie on his back, piggyback style, and led the two older boys back to the barn.

The rest of the kids were sitting in a circle on the floor, hysterical.

Upon seeing the older boys, Freya and Sarah ran to their brothers, blubbering about how it was an accident and they were so sorry and oh my god Jill's dead.

"Calm down!" Axl shouted, silencing the noise in the barn.

The younger kids stared at him, wide eyed. Axl had never really yelled at them, not like this. Not with his voice cracking in fear.

"Back up, okay guys?" Axl said quickly and moved in close to where little Jill was laying.

Axl sucked in a breath when he saw her. She didn't look good.

"Is Jilly dead?" a little voice piped up and Axl looked over to see Jill's older brother, Alex, big brown eyes wide and teary.

Axl shook his head, "No, Al, it's gonna be okay. I promise."

Axl gathered Jill into his arms, highly aware of the fact that the younger kids, including the 6-year-olds, AJ and Maks, had fallen into line behind him as he walked. He thought darkly that it must've looked like a really morbid parade.

* * *

The adults were talking and cooking when Liam yanked open the door to the farmhouse.

"Dad!" Liam shouted and made a beeline for Steve. The super soldier stopped talking with Bucky and the knife he was using to chop carrots clattered to the counter.

"What's wrong?" Steve started, but a sharp scream cut him off.

"Oh my god! Jilly!" Carter screamed, seeing her baby girl cradled in Axl's arms.

"Jill?" Bucky was in high alert, "What happened?"

He raced to Carter's side and took Jill from Axl's arms.

"We were jumping from the barn loft," Axl said, "The kids saw and Jill must've-"

"She slipped off the rope," Maks supplied.

"It was really scary," AJ added.

Carter was hysterical, "Oh my god! My baby's dead!"

The other Avengers had gathered around, shifting nervously, unsure of what they should - could - do.

"How could you be so irresponsible?" Carter snapped, looking at her nephews, "You had to have known they would copy you."

"W-we're sorry," Axl said, angry with himself for letting this happen.

Carter opened her mouth to say something else, when Bucky reached out to squeeze her arm. She turned her head sharply to look at him.

"Jill's fine," He said quietly, tilting his chin down at the little girl resting on his lap.

"M'ma?" she mumbled, cracking open one eye just a little bit.

Carter choked on a sob, "Yeah, baby, Mama's here."

She held tightly onto Jill's hands, completely oblivious to the relieved sighs of her family.

"Can I have ice cream?" Jill muttered, wincing slightly.

Carter and Bucky both let out nervous, relieved laughter.

"Yeah, my baby doll," Bucky said, smoothing Jill's light brown hair away from her forehead, "You can have ice cream."

Axl sagged against the wall, all adrenaline gone. Thor appeared at his son's shoulder.

"Do not blame yourself, my son," Thor said gently, resting his hand on Axl's shoulder.

"It is my fault though. I should've made sure I was watching them."

"The children are rambunctious and curious," Thor said, "The important thing is that they learn from the predicaments they find themselves in."

Axl nodded, "I never wanted any of them to get hurt."

"You'll be a wonderful leader someday," Thor said, grinning widely.

Axl ruffled his dark curls, uncomfortable, "Thanks, dad, but I think I'd rather keep you around for a while."

Thor slung his arm around Axl's shoulders and squeezed. He kept his arm around his son as they watched the rest of the Avengers squabble over what ice cream flavors to get from the store.

* * *

**A/N: Hello! I'm sorry for the wait, but this chapter is 6 pages, so hopefully that makes up for it! It came from a prompt form winter-is-ending, who wanted a chapter with all the Avenger kids at the Barton farm. And the actual story comes from my own family history. My aunt was the Jill in this story. She actually slipped off of the loft and fell. The rest of my aunts and uncles and my dad all thought she was dead and paraded back to the house with her. She, obviously, wasn't dead. But it's still an awesome story hahah. **

**And now I'm putting the ages of all the kids, just in case you want a reference. **

**Axl - 19**

**Mikey - 15**

**Liam - 14**

**Eddie - 9**

**Sarah - 9**

**Ava - 9**

**Freya - 9**

**AJ - 6**

**Maks - 6**

**Alex - 6**

**Jill - 5**


	13. Chapter 13

"Dad!" Sarah screeched, "Get out!"

Steve startled at his daughter's scream and held his hands up in the universal sign for surrender, "Okay, sorry Sar. Can I sit in the den, or am I gonna get yelled at?"

Sarah shared a look with her brothers, silently communicating.

"Better leave our floor altogether," Liam grinned, brushing dark blonde hair from his forehead.

Steve nodded, "Okay. When am I allowed back?"

He leaned against the wall, waiting for his three kids to decide.

"When Mommy comes to get you," AJ finally said, poking his head around the wall and giving Steve a gap-toothed grin.

Steve leaned forward to ruffle AJ's hair, "Got it kiddo. I'll be with Uncle Bucky when Mom comes looking, okay?"

"Stop stalking and leave," Sarah commanded, sounding as bossy as her mom and aunts.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am," Steve laughed, snapping into a mock salute before heading out of the apartment.

* * *

"Did the kids say anything to you?" Steve asked Bucky a little while later as they got in a workout.

Bucky shrugged, "No idea. All I know is Sarah created a task force and has all of the kids doing something. Al and Jilly included."

Steve dodged a punch, "What could they be up to?"

Bucky laughed, "Are you that old that you've forgotten your birthday?"

"Huh?" Steve paused, grunting when Bucky landed a roundhouse kick to his side.

"Ow," he muttered, rubbing at his ribs, "It's the fourth already?"

Bucky grinned, "Yeah, yesterday was the third and tomorrow's the fifth."

"I am over a hundred years old," Steve laughed, "Cut me some slack, jerk."

"Never," Bucky shot back, dropping as Steve aimed a kick at his head.

"So, you're saying they're putting on a party for me?" Steve asked, holding out his hand to pull Bucky to his feet.

"I won't confirm or deny," Bucky laughed, pulling hard on Steve's hand and sending his friend into a forward roll.

Steve sprung up from the roll, "I guess I just have to wait and see."

* * *

"Shhh," there was the sounds of scuffling from behind the door. A small thudding noise piqued Steve's concern.

"Stop, you're gonna mess everything up," Sarah. Steve would recognize her bossy tone anywhere.

"Hang on! Get down from there," Axl.

"Can we have cake yet?" Jilly.

"No, stupid head. It's for Uncle Steve," Alex.

"Mommy texted him and he's gonna be here soon!" AJ.

Steve vaguely wondered where the rest of the adults were. He shrugged to himself and knocked on the door.

The sudden flurry of noise behind the door made Steve snort a laugh.

"One minute, Dad!" Sarah called.

Steve leaned against the wall and waited. He combed his hair off his forehead, catching sight of his reflection in the elevator doors. There were a few grays. Nothing crazy, and barely noticeable if you weren't looking closely, but Steve knew they were there.

And damn was he proud of those grays.

Liam yanked open the door as Steve was contemplating his grays.

"Happy Birthday, Dad," Liam grinned, the corners of his lips turning up in a crooked smile.

Steve clapped his shoulder, "Thanks, Liam."

"Ready for your party?" the preteen laughed, pulling on Steve's wrist to drag him into the apartment.

Steve looked over Liam's head and saw his family, grinning like fools at him. Kit was holding up a party hat, laughing gently.

"I think I am," Steve said and allowed himself to be pulled into birthday hugs.

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys! I know this one's kind of short, but I wanted to post something for Steve's ****birthday! I've got more chapters in the works, but nothing will be posted until i get back form vacation. I'll be gone until late next week, but I have plenty of writing time on the plane, so please drop me a prompt in your review or in my Tumblr inbox! **

**Happy 4th of July to everyone that's celebrating! :D**


	14. Chapter 14

"Hey!" Steve whispered as he leaned forward and knocked lightly on the back of Liam's head with his knuckle, "Put those away."

Liam, Mikey, and Axl all turned in their seats to face Steve, matching frowns gracing their young faces.

"But Dad!" Liam moaned, "It's so boring."

"Yeah, Uncle Steve," Axl agreed, "Plus, Sar, Ave, and Freya aren't even up yet."

Steve shook his head, but it was Thor that spoke, "That does not matter. All of these young performers have put their hearts and souls into their actions. You are to give them the respect that they deserve."

Axl, 14 and entering his sullen, puberty years, sighed and nodded, "Yes, Dad."

The tips of his ears were slightly pink from Thor's rebuke as he slid his hand held video game into the pocket of his cargo shorts.

"Okay, Uncle Thor," Mikey grumbled, handing his own video game to the God of Thunder. Liam was right behind him.

The three boys turned back to each other, ducking their heads close to start whispering.

"You know they're complaining about us, right?" Steve said to Thor, with a wry tilt to his lips.

Thor shrugged, a small smile on his face, "I do not doubt that. But they will learn that we are right."

"I'm just glad you played bad cop," Bruce said, leaning across Betty to take Mikey's video game.

"How many more until the girls?" Clint asked, bouncing Maks on his lap and making silly faces at the two-year-old.

Pepper opened her program and counted, "Three if we count this one, two if we don't."

"So three then," Tony grinned. He handed Eddie an Oreo to get the five-year-old to stop tugging on his shirt.

"Kid," he said, "Do you need a bathroom break? Don't wanna miss the girls' dance."

Eddie chomped happily on the cookie and shook his head, "Nope. But can I have juice?"

Pepper shook her head, "Not until after the show." She leaned over to brush crumbs from her son's face.

"We didn't miss anything, right?" Carter whispered, slightly too loud, since she received a glare from a woman two rows in front of them. She held Jill against her hip, but handed the girl over to Betty as she wiggled into her seat.

"Nah," Bucky said, handing Alex a cloth book, "Just Thor playing bad cop."

Carter grinned, "Ah, and who faced the wrath of the Thunder God this time?"

Thor chuckled deeply, "Just our young men. They will learn to respect others."

"Hey! It's Mommy!" Liam bounced in his seat and waved wildly as Kit sped walked down the aisle.

"Hi baby," Kit whispered to Liam, tousling his hair. She turned to Steve and muttered frantically, "I need you backstage. Now."

"What happened?" Steve asked, expecting a catastrophe. He passed AJ to Thor, hoping the toddler would stay asleep for a little while longer.

Kit shook her head, "Nothing bad. Just a minor meltdown."

Climbing gracefully into the aisle, Steve frowned, "Sar doesn't want to go on?"

"She flat out refused," Kit groused, leading Steve away from the group and to the backstage area.

"What about Ava and Freya? Are they going on?"

"Yeah," Kit sighed, "Ava is loving all the glam and Freya is obsessed with her tap shoes. They're both fine."

She stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned to face Steve, "She was fine! Up until Natasha tried to put a little lipstick on her. She freaked, Steve. Like full on meltdown."

Steve groaned. Sarah was occasionally prone to anxiety and panic attacks. They hadn't quiet figured out what caused them, but they got worse when she was in crowded spaces or unfamiliar situations.

He shot his wife a questioning look and Kit shook her head.

"Not a panic attack. Just a lot of crying," Kit said, looking tired, "I left her sitting on Jane's lap."

"Maybe it's just stage fright?" Steve questioned.

Kit didn't answer since they had arrived at the door to the little dressing area. Steve immediately pushed in, zeroing in on his crying daughter.

With a murmured 'thanks' to Jane, he gathered Sarah into his arms.

"Hey, baby," he whispered gently, stroking the back of Sarah's head, "Calm down. Take a deep breath."

The five-year-old shuddered against Steve's chest, but he could tell that her son's were slowing down.

"That's it," he murmured, "Good girl. Breathe in and out. Good job, Sar. I love you so much."

Sarah went limp in his arms, tears dried up. Her little hand held the front of his casual button down in a vice-like grip.

Kit stood off to the side, watching. They'd found that Steve was better at calming Sarah. Kit thought it had to do with the fact that he was so broad and solid.

"I don't wanna," Sarah cried, burning her face into Steve's chest, "It's scary!"

"The girls are getting lined up," Natasha whispered to Kit, her face looking right and pinched. Ballet wasn't exactly her favorite thing in the world.

Kit nodded and tapped Steve's shoulder, making a 'wrap it up' motion with her finger when he looked up.

He nodded.

"Sar," he said, rubbing his daughter's back in soothing circles, "What will it take for you to get up on stage?"

* * *

"Oh my god," Betty, Pepper, and Carter gasped in unison as they watched Steve vault gracefully onto the edge of the stage from the pit.

Bucky frowned, "What's he doing up there?"

All became clear as the girls tiptoed out onto the stage. Freya and Ava immediately spotted their family and waved wildly. Sarah darted across the stage and grabbed hold of Steve's hand.

The Avengers watched, with increasing amusement, as Sarah proceeded to do the dance moves while holding tightly to Steve's hand.

Steve gamely grinned and waved a little at his team.

Sarah smiled carefully and followed the moves as best as she could, occasionally letting go of her dad's hand so she could twirl.

The routine lasted for a few minutes, at the end the girl all gave little curtsies with their pink tutus flouncing in the air.

The girls' teacher, a funny, young brunette named Maya, grinned and gestured to Steve for him to take his own bow.

He laughed, and still holding Sarah's hand, bowed his head a little.

As the class (and Steve) filed off the stage, Bucky leaned over to Tony and whispered with a grin, "You're never going to let him live this down, are you?"

Tony saved the video on his phone, "Oh, never."

* * *

**A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry for the long wait between chapters. I've been dealing with some life stuff. But I still love this 'verse and I'm going to be playing in it for a while. Not much to say about this chapter, just that I hope you guys enjoy it and drop me a review. **

**As always, I'm open to prompts! :)**


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